Brock: A new wrinkle helped key Seahawks’ Super Bowl win

The Seattle Seahawks unleashed relentless pressure on New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, sacking the NFL MVP runner-up six times and totaling 11 QB hits in their suffocating 29-13 Super Bowl triumph on Sunday night.

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Most of that pressure came from Seattle’s dominant defensive front, which wreaked havoc on opposing quarterbacks all year long.

But head coach Mike Macdonald also threw in a major wrinkle.

After totaling just 21 blitzes this season heading into the Super Bowl, three-time Pro Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon blitzed six times on Sunday night, according to Next Gen Stats. And with his blazing speed, Witherspoon turned those six blitzes into a career-high four pressures, three quarterback hits and a sack, while also keying a Seahawks defensive score.

During Monday’s Blue 88 segment on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk, former NFL quarterback Brock Huard highlighted Witherspoon’s blitzing.

“It wasn’t some exotic blitz out of nowhere,” Huard said. “You’ve seen this weakside nickel blitz all over the league for 25 years. But it was the speed and the disguise. Spoon didn’t give it away, or he gave it away at a time where Drake Maye’s eyes had left the scene.

“And then, honestly, all Drake Maye felt was a scud missile. Here it comes, here it comes. And whether it sped him up, whether that time it actually landed and detonated right in his lap for the pick-six interception, it was just one of those calls (Macdonald) was gonna get to, because Spoon played unbelievable. He played one of his best games of the year.”

It began on the Patriots’ opening drive, when Witherspoon blitzed off the edge to force a third-down throwaway. It happened again on the Patriots’ second drive, when Witherspoon blitzed on third-and-long and swam through New England’s offensive line to bring down Maye for a sack.

Seahawks dial up a blitz and CB Devon Witherspoon sacks Maye!

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And with Seattle holding a 22-7 lead with less than five minutes remaining in the game, it was another Witherspoon blitz that ultimately sealed the franchise’s second Lombardi Trophy.

Witherspoon shot out of a cannon, raced between the right tackle and right guard, flew into the backfield and knocked the ball free from Maye’s arm right arm just as he was attempting a pass. The ball fell right into the hands of edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu, who then raced the other way for a 45-yard pick-six that served as the exclamation mark to the Seahawks’ championship-winning defensive masterpiece.

SEAHAWKS DEFENSIVE TOUCHDOWN FOR UCHENNA NWOSU OMG

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Huard said Witherspoon’s speed was emblematic of Seattle’s defense as a whole.

“It’s as if they played at a speed one tick faster,” Huard said. “You know on your remote control when you speed up once, you get that little arrow? They were playing at that speed, and New England’s front couldn’t handle it. So not only does it screw with the eyes of the quarterback, but what do you think (Patriots left tackle) Will Campbell was thinking? What do you think that rookie left guard was thinking? What do you think even their veteran right tackle was thinking? Like, oh gosh, where’s it coming from now? My head is on a swivel. Is it a four-man rush? Is it a five-man rush? Is it an illusion of a rush? Is it a delayed rush?

“It was just scrambling the wires of all of them, and (Seattle’s pass rush) dominated. And the Seahawks are Super Bowl champs because of it.”

Listen to the full Blue 88 segment at this link or in the audio player near the middle of this post. Tune into Brock and Salk live from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.

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