Seahawks' Super Bowl-winning 'Dark Side' defense: the new 'Legion of Boom'?

Undeterred by all the rules favoring the offense and quarterbacks bringing more athleticism than ever to the field, the Seattle Seahawks verified that defense can still dominate the NFL in 2026.

Seattle's Mike Macdonald became the first head coach to win a Super Bowl as his team's primary defensive play caller when the Seahawks topped the New England Patriots 29-13 on Sunday, a triumph fueled by their “Dark Side” defense — the worthy successor to the “Legion of Boom” that brought home their first Lombardi Trophy 12 years earlier.

It may not be a one-off, either.

Three teams shifted toward defensive-minded leadership this coaching cycle with a trio of defensive coordinators getting head coaching jobs.

The Tennessee Titans hired former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who used to coach the New York Jets. The Miami Dolphins hired Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and the Baltimore Ravens turned to Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.

Macdonald, 38, who served as the Ravens' defensive coordinator for two years before replacing Pete Carroll in Seattle two years ago, is the first head coach with primarily defensive roots to lift the Lombardi Trophy since Bill Belichick following the 2018 season.

Macdonald's defense dominated the Super Bowl from the start and held the Patriots out of the end zone until the fourth quarter. The Seahawks sacked Drake Maye six times and forced him into a pair of costly turnovers they turned into 14 points. They had three takeaways overall.

Seattle's defense made sure it didn't matter that Sam Darnold only threw for one touchdown and couldn't do much in the red zone.

“It’s insane, man," Seattle linebacker Ernest Jones IV said. "I’ve never been around a bunch of guys where literally nobody thought it was a Super Bowl. It was just our next game, and that’s how we approached it. And defensively, we came out and said it early in the year: To win the Super Bowl, it was going to be on our backs, so like I said, I’ll be damned if we get one game away and this defense doesn’t show up like we’re supposed to.”

In the lead-up to the Super Bowl, NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth had high praise for Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who stewarded Maye into an MVP-worthy season and helped him navigate a 10-7 win at snowy Denver in the AFC championship despite throwing for just 86 yards.

This was McDaniels' 10th Super Bowl as an assistant — and it turned out to be his worst. He never took the pressure off Maye, who had a painkilling injection in his throwing shoulder before the game and was hounded relentlessly throughout.

Maye conquered three top-5 defenses on his way to the Super Bowl in his second season, but he wasn't up to the task against the Seahawks, who sported the NFL's top-ranked scoring defense.

“We got to be better with the football and make better decisions and I got to make better throws when the game goes like that," Maye said. "I got to make some throws to help us move the football.”

And McDaniels needed to adjust way quicker than he did. Through three quarters, the Patriots had nine punts, five three-and-outs and just 78 yards of offense.

McDaniels never protected his young QB by calling for more handoffs or quick screens, even though rookie left tackle Will Campbell — the fourth overall pick out of LSU in last year's NFL draft — allowed a whopping 14 pressures in the Super Bowl.

Given how the Super Bowl played out, there are two other former Broncos head coaches who probably deserve another shot at being a head coach before McDaniels: Vic Fangio and Vance Joseph.

Fangio, Philadelphia's defensive coordinator, helped the Eagles win last year's Super Bowl by throttling Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22.

Joseph, Denver's defensive coordinator, has seen his stock rise by leading a unit that's collected an NFL-high 141 sacks over the last two years, including the playoffs. He interviewed with the Raiders, Cardinals, Titans, Falcons, Ravens and Giants this cycle but didn't get that coveted second chance this year.

Other defensive play-callers who might find their phones ringing a year from now, especially if another Super Bowl is dominated by defense like this one was, include Chris Shula of the Rams, Brian Flores of the Vikings and Anthony Campanile of the Jaguars.

Seattle's dominance Sunday raised the question about where the “Dark Side” ranks among all-time great defenses. Right next to the “Legion of Boom,” maybe?

“I know we're the best defense this year,” said Seattle cornerback Devon Witherspoon, “and that's all that matters.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald kisses the Lombardi Trophy between quarterback Sam Darnold and Seattle Seahawks chair Jody Allen after the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald holds the Lombardi Trophy while posing during a news conference the morning after Super Bowl 60 between the Seahawks and the New England Patriots in San Francisco, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Seattle Seahawks Byron Murphy II (91), Devon Witherspoon (21), and the Seahawks defense celebrate after Murphy recovered a fumble after a sack during the third quarter of Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Seattle Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (7) celebrates his touchdown on a fumble recovery with safety Nick Emmanwori (3) during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Seattle Seahawks linebacker Boye Mafe celebrates after the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Steve Luciano)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are hanging near their records Wednesday as oil prices fall and ease the pressure on households and businesses worldwide.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% below its all-time high set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 183 points, or 0.4%, as of 12:56 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% lower.

Stocks of companies with big fuel bills helped lead the way on hopes that lower oil prices will remove a big drag on their profits. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings climbed 5.7%, and United Airlines rallied 7.3%. Delta Air Lines rose 3.7% and is on track to set an all-time high.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil fell 4.1% to $95.48 after the ceasefire between the United States and Iran appeared to hold despite the U.S. military launching what it called “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude fell even more, 4.2%, to $89.69 on hopes that the United States and Iran can reach an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and allow oil tankers to exit the Persian Gulf for deliveries again.

Stocks have been able to run to records despite the painful inflation and uncertainty caused by high oil prices largely because companies have reported surprisingly strong profits for the start of 2026, and the forecast is for them to continue.

Bath & Body Works rallied 11.2%, and Abercrombie & Fitch climbed 11.8% after both reported bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. That's even as U.S. consumers continue to say they're feeling discouraged about the economy and inflation.

Lululemon Athletica rose 3.6% after reaching a deal with its founder, Chip Wilson, where it will add a former chief marketing officer of ESPN and a former co-CEO of On to its board of directors.

On the losing side of Wall Street was Dick's Sporting Goods, which dropped 4.9% despite delivering a profit for the latest quarter that edged past expectations. Analysts pointed to how much profit it wrung out of each $1 in revenue, which some called a bit weak.

Oil-and-gas stocks also sank, hurt by the dropping prices for crude. Exxon Mobil fell 1.4%, and Chevron slipped 0.8%. Halliburton dropped 3% to bring its gain for the year so far back toward 40%.

In the bond market, Treasury yields eased after falling oil prices took pressure off inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.48% from 4.50% late Tuesday and from 4.67% roughly a week ago.

It’s a respite following recent gains for yields in bond markets worldwide, which threatened to slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments. High yields have already forced the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate to its most expensive level since last summer, and they could curtail companies’ borrowing to build the artificial-intelligence data centers that have supported the U.S. economy’s growth recently.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia. South Korea's Kospi was one of the world's best performers and jumped 2.3% after SK Hynix, which is a big beneficiary of the artificial-intelligence boom, soared 9.3%.

A day before, Micron Technology surged to become the latest Big Tech company to be worth more than $1 trillion on AI excitement. Its stock has more than tripled already in 2026, and analysts at UBS said Tuesday it could soar even more because of how fundamentally AI has improved demand for computer memory.

AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.

Trader Edward Curran, left, and specialist Meric Greenbaum, center, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, May 25, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A dealer walks past near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer walks past near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer walks past near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer stands near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)