It’s too early to tell how many viewers NBC lost during the course of Super Bowl 60, but I can tell you in my house the exodus started after the Bad Bunny halftime show.
Brother-in-law and sister-in-law left at that point and it was only a nine-point margin. Father-in-law and mother-in-law were out the door by the end of the third quarter. The wife? She bailed for “Everybody Loves Raymond” reruns not long afterward.
Meanwhile, I stayed in my office, watching from beginning to end.
That’s what the NBC broadcast team was up against in a drama-free 29-13 win by the Seattle Seahawks over the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium.
It was similar to the last Super Bowl game at Levi’s a decade ago when the Denver Broncos beat Carolina 24-10 with their defense and Von Miller taking control early and never letting up.
Five field goals by Jason Myers, a 16-yard touchdown pass from Sam Darnold to A.J. Barner and a 45-yard interception return by Uchenna Nwosu for Seattle. A 35-yard touchdown pass from a previously bewildered Drake Maye to Mack Hollins early in the fourth quarter made it 19-7.
Seattle sacked Maye six times and forced two turnovers. The Seahawks weren’t going to lose unless they turned the ball over, and while it wasn’t the greatest day for Darnold, he came through in that respect.
“One of the best performances in Super Bowl history put up by the Seattle Seahawks tonight,” said play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico, doing his first Super Bowl. That statement came with 4:27 left after Nwosu’s touchdown off a Maye fumble on a sack by defensive back Devon Witherspoon.
There were 15 punts and five field goals, but fortunately, a minimum of penalties (two by Seattle, three by New England, and none on any egregious calls).
It was hard to label it hyperbole, and there was little else Tirico and analyst Cris Collinsworth could do other than describe the kind of defense put forth by Seattle.
The NBC production was solid and professional, from the announcers to the camera work to the graphics and everyone in between. There weren’t a lot of shots of the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge, but Commissioner Roger Goodell managed to leave out the host city in terms of the playing venue when he said on the trophy podium, “Thank you, San Francisco. You’ve been great hosts this week.”
Drama can’t be forced, and to their credit, Tirico and Collinsworth didn’t resort to that, while at the same time not disparaging either the Patriots or the quality of the game.
Collinsworth picked up on Seattle suffocating the New England offense on it before the score even got out of hand.
“It’s been strategic, it’s been physical, it’s been overwhelming at times,” Collinsworth said.
When it was 19-7, Collinsworth beseeched the Patriots to open things up even if there was little hope of success.
“Maybe it’s time to see what we can do if we spread it out on the offensive side, take some shots downfield and see what happens,” Collinsworth said.
When the Patriots did score their first touchdown after two big pass plays, 12:27 remained but there was still an air of doubt in Collinsworth’s voice as he said, “Two plays we’ve seen from the Patriots all year and they finally show up.”
It was also Collinsworth who noted that if not for the presence of New England cornerback Christian Gonzalez, it would have been much worse. Gonzalez broke up potential touchdown passes to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Rasheed Shaheed.
“Ironic isn’t it that Christian Gonzalez has been their best player in this game,” Collinsworth said. “If not, or the plays he mad,e it would be an absolute blowout.”
Collinsworth also recognized early that Maye was overmatched while playing the two-deep safety defense 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan warned in the pregame show would be a problem.
“They’re really just playing zone defense,” Collinsworth said. “That’s all they’re doing, and the clock in the head of Drake Maye has been so sped up.”
The postgame interviews before NBC turned to the Winter Olympics were much like how the Seahawks carried themselves throughout the week — confident but not overly boastful. Coach Mike Macdonald called it “loose and focused” and the Seahawks were every bit that.
As for New England, the Patriots were simply overmatched and it was more than just Maye. He wound up 27 of 43 for 295 yards with two touchdowns and two interception returns.
The NBC crew correctly didn’t lay all the blame on just Maye. Sam Darnold (19 of 38, 202 yards, one touchdown (no turnovers throughout the postseason) put another nail in the coffin of the theory that game managers never prosper in big games. Darnold managed it beautifully, and as he noted afterward, “We could have been better on offense, but I don’t care right now.”
The Patriots found out the same thing the 49ers did in Week 18 and the divisional round of the playoffs. The Seahawks are simply that good, and they ended up doing their best to chronicle another year of Super Bowl history, even if excitement and drama weren’t forthcoming.
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