The only drama left at the end of the Seattle Seahawks’ overwhelming win in Super Bowl LX was the question of MVP. There were plenty of candidates, including kicker Jason Myers and linebacker Derick Hall. It ended up going to the player who had half of Seattle’s offensive yards when the game reached garbage time.
Running back Kenneth Walker III was named Super Bowl MVP after posting 131 rushing yards and 26 receiving yards in the Seahawks’ 29-13 win over the New England Patriots. He is the first running back to win Super Bowl MVP since the Denver Broncos’ Terrell Davis in 1997-98.
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Walker is the eighth running back to win the award overall.
The award held special meaning for Walker, who told reporters after the game that the Super Bowl was the first game his father ever attended, due to a fear of crowds. From The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar:
“My dad, he comes up to Seattle all the time to watch the games, but never goes to the games. He don’t like crowds, so this is his first NFL game. And we won a Super Bowl, so it means a lot to me and I know he’s proud of me for real.
“I wasn’t the one that convinced him. Actually, it was my agent who convinced him to come out here. I didn’t think he would come. … He got out of his comfort zone.”
The Seahawks dismantled the Patriots on both defense and special teams, but their offensive effort was a different story for most of the game. Quarterback Sam Darnold missed some big throws, leaving Seattle with no touchdowns through the first three quarters of play.
Walker’s performance helped Seahawks fans breathe easy once the game was in the fourth quarter. His runs set up field goal after field goal for Myers, who made his own history with five makes from short-to-medium yardage.
Walker had +700 odds for Super Bowl MVP at BetMGM entering the game, the fourth-best in the field behind Darnold (+115), Drake Maye (+230) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (+500).
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It was a well-timed performance for Walker, who is a pending free agent and just added some major hardware to his résumé. He was tasked with the vast majority of the Seahawks’ carries due to fellow running back Zach Charbonnet’s season-ending injury in the divisional round and made the most of it.
Walker has been a member of the Seahawks since they drafted him in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Michigan State. He entered this season with plenty to prove after a down 2024 season that ended with an ankle injury and responded with his first 1,000-rushing yard season since his rookie year.
Across three games in the playoffs, he posted 313 rushing yards on 65 carries (4.8 yards per carry).
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