SANTA CLARA, Calif. — In this case, on this night, the “D” did not stand for Darnold.

It stood for defense.

Menacing, ornery defense. Dominant defense.

Not every championship can be delivered with a burst of drama and an avalanche of points. Not every title can be attained with a barrage of touchdowns and brilliant catches and passing heroics and points galore.

There was nothing elegant and everything pulverizing about the way the Seahawks took care of business Sunday night at Levi’s Stadium. They came out hitting and never quit, pounding the Patriots into submission in a punishing 29-13 victory in Super Bowl 2026 that will send a second Lombardi Trophy to the Pacific Northwest.

This was a fitting victory for a team that allowed the fewest points in the NFL this season. This was the appropriate reward for a 38-year old head coach, Mike Macdonald, who came up through the ranks as a defensive savant and put together a powerful, swarming unit that calls itself the Dark Side.

“They lived up to the Dark Side today,” Macdonald said. “It’s going to go in the history books.”

Sam Darnold did not have to do much heavy lifting, but he did far more than overmatched Drake Maye, the second-year Patriots quarterback who was downright dreadful. Maye turned the ball over three times — one lost fumble, two interceptions — to put a damper on what was a brilliant regular season for the 23-year old.

Darnold, the former Jets first-round pick, is now a Super Bowl champion, a statement that seemed unfathomable not long ago. He would not be without the exploits of running back Kenneth Walker III, who was named MVP after rushing 27 times for 135 yards. He also caught two passes for 26 yards.

Those who doubted the worthiness of the Patriots pointed to the well-cushioned path they enjoyed to get here. Their regular-season schedule was the easiest in the league since the 1999 Rams — they faced three teams with winning records and their opponents had a winning percentage of .391. In the playoffs, good fortune continued. The Chargers were without their two starting offensive tackles, C.J. Stroud threw four first-half interceptions for the Texans and the Broncos were without quarterback Bo Nix and the second half of the AFC Championship game was played on a snow-filled field.

The Seahawks represented a step up in competition and the Patriots were not up to the task. Maye (27-for-43, 295 yards) was sacked six times and often looked skittish in the pocket. His third and final turnover came with 4:47 to go, when Devon Witherspoon on a blitz put a hit on Maye. Uchenna Nwosu came up with the loose ball for an interception and sprinted 45 yards for the touchdown that made it 29–7 and turned the proceedings into a rout.

Jason Myers went 5-for-5 on field goals for the Seahawks, setting a Super Bowl record. He scored the only points in the first half as the Seahawks took a 9-0 lead. The Patriots were anemic, with 51 total yards at the half.

Late in the third quarter, Maye had time in the pocket and threw a sinker that Kayshon Boutte had no chance to catch. That meant that with 3:38 left in the third quarter, the Patriots had more punts (eight) than Maye had completions (seven).

“I’d like to go back to the beginning and redo it,” Maye said of the game.

“We couldn’t get any rhythm going,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said. “We were just playing catch-up.”

Darnold was 19-for-38 passing for 202 yards and one touchdown. The most important aspect to his game is what he did not do: Turn it over, which was huge for a player who led the league in the regular season with 20 turnovers. The Seahawks were only 4-for-16 converting third downs and managed only one touchdown on offense. This was a game won on the other side of the ball.

“My job was to take care of the football,” Darnold said. “If I had to take sacks or throw the ball away I would do it. I just played that kind of game.”

The Seahawks are back on top of the NFL world, 12 years after they won their first Super Bowl with their Legion Of Boom defense leading the way. They were favored to win this game and they did it with Darnold, one of the most unlikely title-winning quarterbacks. From “bust’’ with the Jets to stints with the Panthers and 49ers and Vikings, Darold amassed critics, silenced doubters and his remarkable resilience allowed him to take a team that had supreme faith in him all the way.

“Easy,” Darnold said of how he pulled this off. “My teammates and my coaches. They believed in me.”

The Pats were playing lousy but hanging around just enough that one spark would have at least made the game somewhat compelling. Instead of a spark, they wilted when Maye, hounded, had the ball punched away from him by linebacker Derick Hall for the first turnover of the night, with Byron Murphy making the recovery on the Seattle 37-yard line with 10 seconds left in the third quarter.

Finally, the Seahawks were able to cash in and reach the end zone, with Darnold with 13:24 remaining found a wide open AJ Barner for a 16-yard touchdown to make it 19-0.

Maye momentarily located his composure and accuracy and hit Mack Hollins for a 35-yard scoring hookup, with Hollins getting a half-step on cornerback Riq Woolen to make it 19-7.

“We were trying to get a shutout in a Super Bowl and make history and put a stamp on that Dark Side defense we had this year,’ ” defensive tackle Leonard Williams said.

The next time the Patriots got the ball, Maye gave it right back, sailing a pass intended for Kyle Williams that went directly into the hands of safety Julian Love.

That is the way it went for the Seahawks. That is why they are the champs.