RENTON, Wash. -- The most impressive play of the Seattle Seahawks' victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX might not have been the one Devon Witherspoon made to set up Uchenna Nwosu's pick-six.
Or any of the four combined sacks for Byron Murphy II and Derick Hall.
Or anything that Kenneth Walker III did on his way to being named the game's MVP.
Rylie Mills might have claimed that distinction for himself.
In an eye-popping display of effort and power, the rookie defensive lineman drove Jared Wilson into the backfield with a bull rush, reached both arms around the 310-pound guard to get a hold of quarterback Drake Maye, then brought down both players for his first career sack.
"That was a big moment for him in the Super Bowl to have that confidence at the end of his rookie season," defensive tackle Leonard Williams said earlier last month. "That was a big-time play. It shows what type of potential he has as a player. I think he's going to take it to another level."
Rylie Mills fights through the lineman for another Seahawks sack! Super Bowl LX on NBC Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/hFaoA9F3to
After a college knee injury limited him to 34 snaps over six games last season, a healthy Mills is one of the Seahawks' breakout candidates in 2026. They're hardly hurting for difference-makers along their defensive line, one of the position groups that had the biggest hand in the second world championship in franchise history. But it's an older group that could use the emergence of another young player to boost its immediate depth and long-term prospects.
Williams is 32 and entering the last year of his contract, while fellow defensive tackle Jarran Reed is 33. At outside linebacker, DeMarcus Lawrence is 34 and has considered retirement while his co-starter, Nwosu, is 29. Dante Fowler Jr., who joined that rotation in May on a one-year deal, is 31.
Can Mills (24) join Murphy (23) and Hall (25) in Seattle's next wave of impact players? The on-field evidence is limited. As impressive as it was, his sack against New England was the only notable play he made during his condensed rookie season.
"I just ran through his face and then got to the quarterback," Mills said in the locker room postgame. "I told myself last night, I was like, no more thinking, just go. Sorry, I don't want to swear, but just f---ing go. And then I got in that moment, I just said, 'I'm going to go let it rip.'"