The Super Bowl is supposed to be played at a neutral site, but this year’s location turned out to be anything but.
Super Bowl LX took place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. That happened to be the closest non-home NFL stadium for the Seattle Seahawks, who were just a two-hour flight away.
Meanwhile, that was one of the farthest possible locations for the New England Patriots, who were over 3,000 miles away and had to endure a cross-country flight.
Not surprisingly, the game was essentially a home game for the Seahawks. According to Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald, the crowd was roughly three-quarters Seahawks fans.
During his appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” this week, Macdonald explained how the crowd makeup gave his team a critical edge over the Patriots.
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“It was incredible…It was like playing a home game,” Macdonald said. He said New England’s offense had to use a silent cadence all game, which gave his defense an advantage and may have contributed to Drake Maye’s brutal performance. Meanwhile, Seattle was able to use a verbal cadence, which helped Sam Darnold and its offense move the ball downfield more successfully.
Not surprisingly, the Seahawks dominated the game, thrashing the Patriots 29-13. While they were the better team and likely would have won regardless of where the game was played, perhaps the outcome would have been closer at a more neutral location.
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Featured image via Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
