Macdonald wasn't in a rush to revisit the best day of his football life
By Jordan Dajani Mar 31, 2026 at 12:10 pm ET • 2 min read 
Getty Images The Seattle Seahawks were the story of the 2025 NFL season, as they rode a stifling defense, the eventual Offensive Player of the Year in Jaxon Smith-Njigba and a new quarterback in Sam Darnold all the way to a Super Bowl LX title. It was a dominant 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots that left no doubt who the best team in the NFL was, as the Seahawks registered the best overall point differential (+246) in a season by a Super Bowl champion since the 1999 Rams.
Mike Macdonald was the mastermind behind the Seahawks' No. 1 scoring defense, and he became the third-youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl behind Sean McVay and Mike Tomlin. While Feb. 8 was the most special day of his football career, Macdonald has only relived it once.
"Full disclosure, I've only watched it once. Like five days ago," Macdonald said during a recent appearance on "Up & Adams."
"It took me that long to watch the tape."
2026 NFL three-round mock draft: Steelers target high-upside WR, then trade back into Round 1 for QB Ryan Wilson
Why did Macdonald wait so long to rewatch the most important football victory of his career? He said he didn't want to ruin his in-person experience by putting on his coach's hat. Plus, Macdonald was sick of watching college tape at this point.
"Because I'm weird and I loved the idea of how we played from, like, first-person watching the game, but when I watch it from the coach's perspective I inevitably put my coach's hat on and I critique it probably too hard," Macdonald said. "I'm actually thinking of the plays that maybe we could have played better and what we want to get better at..."
So what could have the dominant Seahawks done better?
"We could've taken the back to the flat a couple times and then the two touchdown passes were kind of a bummer," Macdonald said.
To Macdonald's point, the final quarter of the Super Bowl got pretty wonky. The Seahawks entered the fourth quarter nursing a 12-0 lead. Seattle actually became the first team to allow zero points through three quarters in a Super Bowl since the 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers, and it was just the second Super Bowl to feature zero touchdowns through three quarters. However, the Seahawks and Patriots combined for 30 points scored in the final stanza!
Darnold helped extend Seattle's lead to 19-0 with a 16-yard touchdown pass to AJ Barner, then Drake Maye came back with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Mack Hollins for New England's first points of the evening. Following a Jason Myers field goal, Uchenna Nwosu took a Maye turnover 45 yards for a touchdown, then Rhamondre Stevenson of the Patriots caught a 7-yard touchdown pass with 2:21 remaining in the game.
It was a commanding win, but Macdonald clearly wanted perfection. In a way, this helps explain why the Seahawks were so successful in 2025.
Join the Conversation comments
