Super Bowl LX: Seahawks Take Two-Score Lead In First half

The Seattle Seahawks went into halftime of the Super Bowl ahead 9-0 over the New England Patriots.

Defense was the story of the first half. The Seahawks allowed just 52 total yards. Outside of two big runs by Seattle running back Kenneth Walker III, the ‘Hawks only managed 124 yards of offense. New England and Seattle combined for only five third-down conversions on 16 attempts in the first 30 minutes of the game.

A promising opening drive allowed Seattle to make it down to the Patriots’ 14 yard line, but New England’s defense held pat in the red zone and forced a field goal, putting the Seahawks on top 3-0. Coming into this contest, the Pats had allowed their opponents to score touchdowns on 60.4% of their red zone drives.

On New England’s first possession, they made it to about the midfield point. However, third-year Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall derailed that drive with a ten-yard sack of Drake Maye, leading to the first punt of the game.

The defensive battle continued through the remainder of the first frame. Three consecutive punts brought us to the end of quarter number one.

Once Seattle got the ball back in the second quarter, it turned into the Kenneth Walker III Show. He broke off runs of 29 and 30 yards to get the Seahawks into the red zone. Once again, though, the Patriots’ defense didn’t budge and forced another field goal, giving Seattle a 6-0 lead. Walker had 100 scrimmage yards in the first half of this game.

Following a decent punt return, Seattle took control of the ball at their own 43 with 2:50 to go in the second quarter. The Seahawks used that drive well, methodically moving the ball down the field before settling for their third field goal of the game and a 9-0 lead at the break.

*Author’s note: all information and statistics are tracked in real time and are provided by the game’s broadcaster, NFL.com, and ESPN.com*