Patriots Ups & Downs: Who stood out in a Super Bowl loss to the Seahawks?

The Patriots' thrilling 2025 season came to a disappointing end Sunday night in Super Bowl LX, falling 29-13 to the Seattle Seahawks. New England kept the game competitive for three quarters with stingy defense and sharp special teams play, but the offense struggled mightily as the Seahawks dominated up front. With that in mind, here's who earned UP or DOWN grades based on their on-field performance in the Super Bowl...

Maye isn't at the top of the list of the reasons the Patriots lost this game, but he's at the top of this list of Ups & Downs because he plays the most important position on the field. And whether he's ready for the moment or not, he's the guy that they needed to come up big to steal a win away from Seattle.

Unfortunately, Maye did the opposite of making a big play in the biggest moment. The game was still in the balance when Maye faced third-and-5 with 16 seconds left in the third quarter and the Pats down 12-0. He dropped back, held the ball a split second too long, and let Derick Hall jab the ball out of his hands for a fumble, which Seattle's Byron Murphy recovered. The Seahawks defensive front had long dominated the Patriots up front to that point, but it was still a game, and that was the moment it was no longer competitive.

Even still, the game wasn't over, thanks to Maye and receiver Mack Hollins finally getting the Patriots into the end zone. But Maye then made his most inexcusable decision of the night, a down-the-middle heave into heavy traffic for an easy interception for Julian Love. It was second-and-3, far from a gotta-have-it moment. So, it's clear that Maye still has some of that mindless gunslinger thing in him, and he'll probably need to grow out of it if he wants to be a champion.

It's easier to excuse Maye for the Patriots' first-half struggles. No quarterback could function against that kind of pressure, which was coming from all angles and from up and down the Seahawks lineup. But the third quarter felt like they'd come up with an answer for it. Maye had time to throw. Plays were there to be made. But he'd already been battered and broken enough. Maye couldn't see the field. Passes sailed.

The hope for the Patriots is that Maye learns from this experience, toughens up, and responds in a major way in the future. It's going to be tough for the Pats to get right back to the Super Bowl next year, but Maye will have opportunities to prove he can come through in big games. This night does not necessarily define him.

The Patriots can at least be happy to know they have one of the league's elite cornerbacks on their side, and one that can elevate his game on the biggest stage. Gonzalez made a game-high three pass breakups, and two of them broke up potential touchdowns. The Pats held Jaxon Smith-Njigba to just four catches on 10 targets for 27 yards, and Gonzalez gave up just 1 of 2 for 16 yards.

Gonzalez was a massive reason the Patriots hung in there for much of the game before the Seahawks pulled away. He will be eligible for an extension in the new league year, and this performance may have earned him a few extra bucks.

The No. 1 reason the Patriots lost this game was the offensive line, both in terms of talent and coaching. Campbell is going to have a lot of noise to ignore about having to move to guard this off-season, but that could also be his reality, as he mostly struggled against the league's best pass-rushers in the playoffs. He's still young and could perhaps prove to be a serviceable left tackle, but he wasn't even that down the stretch.

Pro Football Focus had Campbell down for three total pressures allowed, including one sack. Next Gen Stats clearly has a harsher grading system, because they had Campbell down for 14 (!) pressures, the most they've calculated for a single offensive lineman in a playoff game since 2018. No matter how you tabulate it, anyone with eyes could see that the rookie got manhandled.

It's also hard to put it entirely on Campbell, because the Patriots started the game rarely giving Campbell blocking help on his side. They adjusted and settled down for a time in the third quarter, but by that point, the damage had been done to Maye and the turnovers started to come. Whether Campbell stays at left tackle or moves to guard, legitimate improvement is essential somewhere on the O-line for next season.

Woodson turned out to be the Patriots' best, most consistent rookie this season, and he saved his best work for last. Woodson racked up a team-high 10 tackles, including three tackles for loss, and also broke up two passes. On a night that Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker rushed for 135 yards on 27 carries (5.0 average), Woodson felt like the only one who could make a play against him.

The Patriots secondary is in good hands with Woodson, who led the Patriots in defensive snaps throughout the season. Ideally, he takes on a bigger role as a leader and communicator in his second season. It was nice to see him make a handful of impressive plays on the biggest stage.

Wilson gave up one sack on the night, finishing out an up-and-down rookie campaign. He basically played out of position all season, rising to the left guard role out of necessity after the Patriots failed to add anyone else to the roster who could feasibly play the position. For that reason, there's promise for Wilson in the future.

The problem is, Garrett Bradbury is signed for 2026 and had a good year, so it's not a given that Wilson can move to center. But if the Patriots decide to move Campbell to left guard, that could signify that Wilson will slide into the position he played in college. What's clear after this game is, the combo of Campbell and Wilson on the left side of the line wasn't nearly good enough.

Hollins was the first of Maye's weapons to really give the team a spark, making two catches for 59 yards on consecutive plays with a touchdown. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late at that point of the game. But Hollins deserves credit for continuing to compete and come up with a couple of big plays when the Patriots desperately needed them, and on a night that playmaking was extremely hard to come by for the offense.

Williams did generate a sack and three total pressures, but he also whiffed on multiple sack opportunities and got charged with two missed tackles in the run game. Williams was a true impact player for the Patriots throughout the season when he was on the field, and should continue to be over the next few years. But he couldn't quite finish plays at the same consistent level in this game, and it's clear now that they needed him to be better.

If the Patriots pulled off a win, their punt coverage would've been one of the areas they gave themselves a clear edge. The Pats punted eight times, but forced returner Rashid Shaheed to fair-catch the ball on six of them, thanks to Schooler consistently getting to him. Granted, if your punt coverage specialist was one of your best players, then you probably had a bad night. But Schooler deserves credit for a strong finish to the season.

That's it for Patriots Ups & Downs for the 2025 season. We're on to the off-season.