Wednesday was a busy day for U.S athletes at the Milan Cortina Olympics as Team USA doubled its gold-medal tally.

Meanwhile, injured snowboarder Chloe Kim laid to rest any notion that she's anything but the gold-medal favorite. Madison Chock and Evan Bates likely finished their careers on the podium. And the jilted lover of the unfaithful Norwegian biathlete has responded.

Here are five of the top stories from Day 5 of the Milan Cortina Olympics

Jordan Stolz's star turn

If you didn't know Jordan Stolz's name before, he introduced himself to the wider world on Wednesday. 

The 21-year-old U.S. speedskater who's the best in the sport made his Olympics debut in dramatic fashion. Stolz trailed Norway's Jenning de Boo in the final lap of their 1,000-meter race and appeared at risk of an upset loss. 

But he chased de Boo down on the back stretch, then sprinted past him on the final turn as if propelled out of a slingshot to overtake the Norwegian with the fastest time of the day at 106.28, a new Olympic record. Stolz made up a deficit of nearly a full second on the final lap to secure the win.

Stolz's time survived the final race of the competition, and the world-record holder in the 1,000 meters is now the Olympic record holder and a gold medalist. De Boo took silver, and China's Ning Zhongyan won bronze.

Stolz is just getting started at Milan Cortina. He has a realistic shot at leaving the Games with four gold medals. He's also slated to compete at 500 meters (Saturday), 1,500 meters (Feb. 19) and in the mass start event slated to close speedskating competition on Feb. 21. 

Madison Chock, Evan Bates get their medal

It's not the color they were targeting. But Madison Chock and Evan Bates finally have Olympic medals of their own.

The veteran U.S. ice dancers skated second to last in Wednesday's free dance and executed a performance worthy of gold-medal contention. 

But France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron entered Wednesday with a slim lead of 0.46 points after edging the U.S. couple in Monday's rhythm dance. 

And they delivered a brilliant performance of their own to edge Chock and Bates with a total score of 225.82 to secure the gold medal. 

Chock and Bates won silver with a combined score of 224.39, 1.43 points behind the gold-medal winners. Canada's Piper Gilles and Paul Poirer won bronze with a score of 217.74.

The individual Olympic medal was the final item on the résumé for Chock and Bates, who have been partners on the ice for 15 years and married since 2024. They've won two Olympic gold medals in team competition, including from Sunday night. And they entered the Milan Cortina Games with three consecutive world championships. 

Wednesday's performance was expected to be their last in competition. If so, they'll conclude their decorated careers with two more Olympic medals from Milan Cortina.

Chloe Kim looks just fine

Chloe Kim declared on Jan. 13 that she was "good to go" for the Olympics despite sustaining a torn left labrum in training just days earlier. 

It turns out that she was right. The two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist in the halfpipe made her Milan Cortina debut in qualifying on Wednesday. As stated, she's good to go.

Kim laid down a monster score of 90.25 on her first of two runs. 

That score stood at the end of the day as the best by nearly three points. Japan's Sara Shimizu finished second with an 87.5, and Kim's U.S. teammate Maddie Mastro finished third with an 86.

The scores don't carry over to Thursday's final, where each rider will have three runs to lay down the best score of the day. But Kim erased any doubt that her injury has made her anything but the favorite to secure her third consecutive Olympic gold medal and the sixth in seven Games in the event for the U.S.

U.S. Women go gold-silver in moguls

It was a banner day for the U.S. in women's moguls competition. All four American competitors advanced to Wednesday's final. Two of them finished on the podium with gold and silver medals. 

Liz Lemley finished with gold thanks to a dominant performance that secured a score of 83.20, well clear of any of the skiers before her.

Her teammate Jaelin Kauff competed after her and posted an 80.77 as the only other competitor to crack 80 points.

Neither of their positions were secure until reigning Australian Olympic gold medalist Jakara Anthony competed. But Anthony fell on her final run and finished in eighth place, ensuring that Lemley and Gauff would claim gold and silver. 

France's Perrine Laffont won bronze with a score of 78. Japan's Hinako Tomitaka matched Laffont's 78, but finished excruciatingly off the podium in fourth place due to a tiebreaker.

Lindsey Vonn posts painful injury update: 'I'll be OK'

It was clear from reports that Lindsey Vonn's broken leg was no simple fracture. 

Vonn provided some insight on Wednesday hammering that point home. In her second update since her devastating injury crash in Sunday's alpine downhill competition, Vonn posted on Instagram that she'd undergone a third surgery to repair her fractured left tibia. She also shared a picture from her hospital bed demonstrating just how serious her injury is. 

Instagram/lindseyvonn

Vonn's left leg is placed in what appears to be an external fixator, a brace that uses pins, wires and bars to stabilize severely fractured bones. She previously announced that she'd sustained a complex fracture, which Yale medicine defines as "when the bone breaks into bits and pieces, when the soft tissue surrounding the bone is severely damaged, or when the patient has other illnesses or injuries that complicate treatment and healing."

It's not clear if Vonn will require more procedures to rebuild her broken leg. But she clearly has a difficult road to recovery. 

Vonn expressed optimism in her recovery while giving a thumbs alongside a note of gratitude to her medical team and supporters and well wishes for Team USA at the Olympics.

"I had my 3rd surgery today and it was successful," Vonn wrote. "Success today has a completely different meaning than it did a few days ago. I’m making progress and while it is slow, I know I’ll be ok."

Highlight of the day

NBC's drone pilots are doing outstanding work getting third-person shots of athletes barreling down the halfpipe, racing on the downhill course and sledding through the twists and turns of the luge track. They also appear to be having a good time.

On Wednesday, they offered up this gem simulating a first-person view of what it might look like to take on the Milan Cortina moguls course.

One last thing

We have an update on the saga of the cheating Norwegian biathlete. He cheated in love, not in competition, to be clear.

In case you missed it, Sturla Holm Lægreid won bronze in the 20km biathlon on Tuesday, then made the questionable decision to admit — in tears — in his post-race interview that he cheated on his girlfriend and that he'd hoped to win her back.

The girlfriend has now weighed in. Make that the ex-girlfriend. She understandably does not sound interested in Lægreid's post-infidelity overtures.

The girlfriend — who chose to remain anonymous — provided this response to Norwegian tabloid VG:

“It’s hard to forgive," she wrote. "Even after a declaration of love in front of the whole world. ... I did not choose to be put in this position, and it hurts to have to be in it. We have had contact, and he is aware of my opinions on this.”

Here's the initial interview that sparked one of the strangest story of these Games:

"There's someone I wanted to share it with who might not be watching," he said, via BBC translation, fighting back tears. "Six months ago I met the love of my life — the most beautiful and kindest person in the world. Three months ago I made my biggest mistake and cheated on her.

"I had the gold medal in life, and I am sure there are many people who will see things differently, but I only have eyes for her."

It sounds like her eyes are looking elsewhere.

Steph Chambers via Getty Images

The San Antonio Spurs have released former lottery pick and All-Rookie team selection Jeremy Sochan, ESPN's Shams Charania reports. 

Sochan will be a free agent, per the report.

This story will be updated.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Victor Wembanyama does it all on the basketball court.

On Tuesday he put his scoring hat on. 

The San Antonio Spurs superstar dropped 25 points against the Los Angeles Lakers — in the first quarter. And he sat for the final 4:01 of the stanza.

It was a remarkable scoring output that no other Spurs player has produced in the play-by-play stat-tracking era dating back to 1997-98. That includes the tail end of David Robinson's career, Kawhi Leonard's Spurs prime and the entirety of Tim Duncan's career.

He did it from inside and out and tallied most of those points during a stretch in which he scored 17 consecutive Spurs points.

Wembanyama went 8 of 9 from the field and 3 of 4 from 3 while adding 3 rebounds. The Spurs piled up a 47-30 lead against a Lakers team playing without Luka Dončić, Lebron James or Austin Reaves.

This story will be updated.

Mark Blinch via Getty Images

The Toronto Blue Jays got bad news on Tuesday as they look ahead to defending their AL pennant. 

Right fielder Anthony Santander needs surgery on his left labrum and is expected to miss 5-6 months. The latter end of that timeline projects a return sometime in August, well past the All-Star break. 

Manager John Schneider announced the news to reporters Tuesday. Santander will likely miss more than half the season on the heels of playing just 54 games in his first season in Toronto in 2025.

Santander, 31, made his first All-Star team in 2024 as a member of the rival Baltimore Orioles, sending him into the offseason as one of the better hitters available in free agency. He joined the Blue Jays that offseason on a five-year $92.5 million contract. 

Various injuries including to his shoulder limited Santander to 54 regular-season games in 2025. He returned for the final week of the regular season and played five postseason games in the ALDS against the Yankees and the ALCS against the Mariners. 

But the Blue Jays removed him from their ALCS roster before Game 4 with a back injury and he did not make Toronto's World Series roster. 

Schneider told reporters Tuesday that Santander was "feeling good after the season" and that the goal this offseason was to avoid surgery while resting and rehabbing in November in December.

But he experienced a setback when he returned to hitting in January, and the Blue Jays and Santander ultimately opted for surgery. He'll have the procedure on Wednesday, more than three months after the conclusion of Toronto's season in their Game 7 loss to the Dodgers in the World Series.

"Unfortunate with the timing, obviously, after the season he had too, for sure," Schneider said. But just a setback after he started hitting and ramping up in January."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Star Kansas freshman guard Darryn Peterson is a late scratch for the 9th-ranked Jayhawks' showdown with No. 1 Arizona Monday night due to flu-like symptoms. 

A Kansas spokesman announced the new to reporters shortly before the game's scheduled 9 p.m. ET tip. The game was billed as one of the biggest on the college basketball calendar with the projected No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft in Peterson leading Kansas against the top-ranked and undefeated Wildcats. 

Instead, Peterson will miss another high-profile matchup as injuries and now illness have marred his otherwise standout freshman campaign. Monday's is the 11th game that Peterson has missed out of 24. He missed nine with a hamstring injury and another with an ankle injury prior to Monday's absence. 

Several of those games were big matchups against ranked opponents. He missed a Nov. 18 game against No. 5 Duke, a Nov. 26 game against No. 17 Tennessee and a Dec. 2 game against No. 5 UConn. Up next for Kansas after Arizona is a road game against No. 5 Iowa State on Saturday. 

Peterson has lived up to his billing when he's been available and is averaging 20.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. A 6-5 guard with a quick first step, Peterson's a threat to blow by his defender for a dunk or pull up from 3, where he shoots 41.9%.

Despite his frequent absences, Peterson's widely projected as the No. 1 pick out of a standout freshman class in which BYU's AJ Dybantsa, Duke's Cameron Boozer, North Carolina's Caleb Wilson and Houston's Kingston Flemings are all projected to join him in the top 5 of June's NBA Draft. That's thanks to his uncommon athleticism and skill set on both sides of the ball. 

After a disappointing 11-5 start, Kansas had thrived with Peterson on the court and entered Monday night with a seven-game win streak that included victories over then- No. 2 Iowa State, No. 13 BYU and No. 13 Texas Tech. 

Kansas dropped from preseason No. 19 to out of the rankings in Week 11, only to rise to No. 9 ahead of Monday's Arizona game with Peterson back in the lineup.

There were no new medals for Team USA on Monday at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

But there was plenty of high-stakes competition that sets up U.S. athletes in medal position with gold at stake in multiple events. USA women's hockey continued to cruise in group play ahead of a showdown with Canada.

Lindsey Vonn, meanwhile, released her first public statement since her devastating crash in the alpine downhill competition. She has "no regrets" from competing on a torn ACL and doesn't believe the injury contributed to her crash.

And ahead of the men's short program Tuesday, lia Malinin's cat is joining in on USA's gold medal in team figure skating.

Here are the top five stories of the day from Monday:

Chock and Bates in silver-medal position after rhythm dance

Madison Chock and Evan Bates' pursuit of their first Olympic medal in pairs competition is off to a strong start. But they're not quite where they want to be in their quest for Olympic gold.

Chock and Bates skated a strong program Monday. But a technical deduction on a pattern step placed them in second place, just behind the first-place French duo of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron.

Beaudry and Cizeron posted a score of 90.18, less than half a point ahead of Chock and Bates' score of 89.72. Canada's Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier leave Monday's rhythm dance in third place with a score of 86.18.

The scores carry over to Wednesday's free dance and will be combined with the free dance totals to determine medal winners. Since the scores carry over from the rhythm dance instead of the placement, the French and U.S. skating pairs are locked in what amounts to a virtual tie in what's expected to be a two-way battle for the gold medal.

Chock and Bates have team gold medals from this year's competition and from 2022 in Beijing. But they're still in search of their first Olympic medal in pairs competition after finishing in fourth place in Beijing.

They enter the Milan Cortina Games as the gold medal favorites after securing three consecutive world championships. But they'll have their work cut out for them against Beaudry and Cizeron.

Five teams including USA's Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik (6th place, 83.53 points) are within five points of the third-place Canadian pair in what's expected to be a competitive race for the bronze medal.

Lindsey Vonn's first statement since crash, surgery

Lindsey Vonn made her first public statement Monday since her devastating injury crash in the alpine downhill competition on Sunday, declaring that she has "no regrets."

In an Instagram post, Vonn wrote that her ACL tear didn't factor into the crash or her injury, which she described as a "complex tibia fracture."

Vonn explained that her crash and injury were strictly the result of her right arm hooking into a gate and a sending her flying through the air off balance at a high rate of speed — not because of her previous ACL injury.

"I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash. My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever."

Vonn, 41, added that she sustained a "complex tibia fracture" that "will require multiple surgeries to fix properly. She did not address her future in the sport.

USA Curling is medal-bound

USA Curling is guaranteed a medal. The only question at this point is what color it will be. 

USA's mixed doubles team of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin exceeded expectations just by advancing to the knockout round thanks to a 6-3 record in round-robin play. When they got to Monday's medal-round semifinal, they faced their stiffest test yet — a matchup against the reigning Olympic champion Italian tandem of Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner playing in front of a friendly home crowd.

The Italians put the Americans to the test. But Thiesse and Dropkin prevailed in dramatic fashion with a final shot that secured a 9-8 win. 

Thiesse had the final throw with USA trailing 8-7 and needing two points to win and advance to the gold-medal match. She delivered a perfect throw that Dropkin guided into place to knock out Italy's scoring stone and secure two points for the win.

With the win, USA advances to face Sweden at 12:05 a.m. ET on Tuesday with the gold medal on the line. The loser of Tuesday's match will secure silver.

Italy advanced to face Great Britain in the bronze-medal match Tuesday at 8:05 a.m. ET.

U.S. women blitz Switzerland ahead of Canada showdown

The U.S. women continue to cruise in ice hockey group play and are now 3-0 following a 5-0 blowout over Switzerland on Monday. Up next — a showdown with Canada.

Hilary Knight didn't score and remains tied with Natalie Darwitz and Katie King for the most goals scored by a U.S. player in Olympic competition with 14. But there was little to find fault with in a game in which Alex Carpenter, Haley Winn, Joy Dunne, Hannah Bilka and Caroline Harvey found the back of the net. Gwyneth Philips, meanwhile, made 20 saves in a shutout in her first start in goal at the Olympics. 

USA has now outscored its Olympic competition, 15-1 in wins over Switzerland, Finland and Czechia. USA leads Group A with 9 points and a plus-14 goal differential. 

Canada is 2-0 with a 9-1 goal differential in wins over Switzerland and Czechia. And it promises to provide a considerably stiffer test in Tuesday's showdown (2:10 p.m. ET) that's widely expected to be a preview of the gold-medal game.

USA misses speed skating podium as Netherlands goes 1-2

U.S. speed skaters Brittany Bowe and Erin Jackson entered Monday's 1,000-meter competition each with an outside shot of making the podium. They didn't get there. 

The Netherlands' Jutta Leerdam set an Olympic record with a time of 1:12.31 to secure the gold medal and was joined on the podium by her teammate and silver medalist Femke Kok. Japan's Miho Takagi, the reigning gold medalist in the event, took bronze.

Jackson left her skate with the fastest time, but was surpassed by five others en route to a sixth-place finish. Bowe, the world-record holder in the event, was in podium position ahead of the final race. But Leerdam's and Takagi's medal-securing skates knocked her into fourth place.

Bowe, 37, set the world record in the event with a time of 1:11.61 in 2019 at the ISU World Cup in Salt Lake City in 2019, and it still stands. She won bronze at the Beijing Games. This is her last Olympics. She plans to retire after the Games. She'll also compete in the 1,500 meters (Feb. 20) and the women's team pursuit (Feb. 14, 17).

Jackson is a 500-meter specialist who began training for the 1,000 meters after Beijing. She'll seek to repeat her 500-meter gold medal performance from Beijing on Feb. 15.

Team USA medals

Team USA did not add to its medal count on Tuesday. Through three days of competition, USA's medal count stands at two golds: Breezy Johnson's in the alpine downhill competition and the team figure skating competition that concluded Sunday.

Host Italy leads the way with nine total medals, while Norway and Switzerland are tied for the lead with three golds each. 

Highlight of the day

There was nothing at stake for Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud for her final run at Monday's slopestyle final. 

Her first two runs secured her second straight gold medal on top of her gold medal from Beijing. So her third run was a true victory lap. She ran it in style while adorned with the Swiss flag.

One more thing

Meet Mysti. 

This is lia Malinin's cat joining in on the celebration after Malinin clinched for Team USA in the team figure skating competition Sunday night. 

Malinin's hoping to bring home another gold for Mysti in the men's competition that starts Tuesday with the short program.

Olympic medals are breaking. 

Olympic officials say they're "working on it."

U.S. skier Breezy Johnson first noted the faulty medals after her gold-medal run in Sunday's alpine downhill competition. Johnson showed off her broken medal during her post-race news conference and told reporters that it fell apart from its ribbon as she was celebrating.

"I don't know that the Italians are known for their engineering," she told reporters. "I assume someone will fix it.”

Johnson also added a warning for her fellow medal winners. 

"Don't jump in them," she said.

More broken medals

On Monday, U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu posted social video of her detached medal after securing gold alongside her teammates in Sunday's team final. She didn't seem too upset about it. 

"My medal don't need the ribbon," Liu captioned while posting video of herself smiling with her medal and detached ribbon in opposite hands. 

Liu didn't detail how hers became detached.

There's video evidence, meanwhile, of German biathlete Justus Strelow's medal falling apart from its ribbon. Strelow won his medal Sunday with his teammates in the mixed relay competition. As he jumped in celebration with his teammates, the medal fell from around his neck with a clang onto the tile floor below. 

The medal mishap didn't appear to hinder the celebration.

It appears that all of the medals are breaking in the same manner. The bar that attaches medals to their ribbons is breaking away, and the medals are then falling to the ground away from the ribbons. Olympic officials have gotten the memo. 

Olympic committee is 'working on it'

Andrea Francisi, the chief games operations officer for the Milan Cortina organizing committee, told the Associated Press on Monday that officials were working on a solution.

“We are aware of the situation, we have seen the images," Francisi said. "Obviously we are trying to understand in detail if there is a problem.

“But obviously we are paying maximum attention to this matter, as the medal is the dream of the athletes, so we want that obviously in the moment they are given it that everything is absolutely perfect, because we really consider it to be the most important moment. So we are working on it.”

What "working on it" means isn't exactly clear from Francisi's statement. But there appears to be good news for those athletes with broken medals. 

Andrew Milligan - PA Images via Getty Images

Johnson says she got a new, intact medal

It wasn't initially clear on Sunday if Johnson's medal would be replaced. Johnson confirmed late Sunday night to NBC that, indeed, she was given a new one. She just has to do some extra legwork to get it personalized. 

"I was jumping, and the whole ribbon came off of the medal. And then they tried to fix it, but they couldn’t. So they gave me this one instead, and I have to go get it engraved," Johnson said, while showing off her new medal on NBC's late night Olympic show."

Johnson added that her medal broke within 15 minutes of receiving it.

“I don’t know if I have very many Olympic records," Johnson continued. "But I might have the shortest-lived Olympic medal record."

She also had a backup plan just in case the Olympic committee didn't replace her broken hardware:

“I was pretty sure that they would replace or fix it," she said. "Or, like, my dad’s a carpenter, so I was pretty sure we could do something about it."

Klint Kubiak just won the Super Bowl. 

He isn't going to Disney World. He's going to Las Vegas.

NFL Network interviewed the Seahawks offensive coordinator in the aftermath of Seattle's dominant 29-13 win over the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl Sunday night. In the interview, he confirmed the worst-kept secret in football — that he's leaving Seattle to take over as the next head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Kubiak didn't volunteer the information when asked an open-ended question. But when pressed, he spilled the beans. 

"You guys know I'm going to Las Vegas, I'm fired up about it," Kubiak said. ... "Hell yeah, I'm going. Of course I'm going."

So Kubiak's fired up, and justifiably so.

First and foremost, he just won the Super Bowl. Perhaps less exciting, he's going to Las Vegas to take over as head coach of one of the worst teams in football. Don't expect him back here next season.

But it's a head coaching job in the NFL, and that's more than enough reason for excitement for a 38-year old fresh off a Super Bowl win.

The news has been known for a week. Kubiak and the Raiders reportedly reached agreement on a deal on Feb. 1. But since Kubiak was the offensive coordinator of a team preparing to play in the Super Bowl, neither he nor the Raiders could confirm their partnership. 

And while the Raiders are coming a 3-14 campaign that was tied for the NFL's worst last season, there's reason for excitement for Kubiak and Raiders fans. There's a decent chance that Heisman Trophy winner and national champion Fernando Mendoza will play quarterback for the Raiders next season.

The Seattle Seahawks entered Sunday's Super Bowl one dominant performance away from establishing their defense as one of the greatest of all time. 

Mission accomplished. 

Anchored by a dominant defensive effort, the Seahawks rolled to a 29-13 win over the New England Patriots for the franchise's second Super Bowl championship. While Kenneth Walker III and Sam Darnold did what was needed on offense, Seattle's defense dominated the game and the highlight reel.

Here are the five plays that defined Seattle's Super Bowl victory:

Derick Hall's second sack leads to turnover

While Seattle had thoroughly dominated the game through three quarters, the outcome wasn't settled. Thanks to failing to score a touchdown, Seattle's lead was limited to two possessions at 12-0 as the third quarter wound down. 

Derick Hall helped ensure that Seattle's defensive efforts wouldn't go to waste. With the Patriots facing third-and-5 near midfield in the final seconds of the quarter, Hall beat right tackle Morgan Moses and tracked down quarterback Drake Maye in a collapsing pocket. 

He poked the ball loose for a fumble that defensive tackle Byron Murphy II recovered.

The sack was the second of the game for Hall, who set the tone in the first quarter with a sack of Maye on New England's first possession that ultimately forced a punt. Now he'd forced the first turnover of the game at a critical juncture in the second half. 

Seahawks capitalize with Sam Darnold's only TD

Seattle hadn't done much with the ball up to that point while tallying four field goals through three quarters. But Sam Darnold and Co. capitalized on Hall's strip sack. 

Five plays after the turnover, Darnold found tight end AJ Barner for a 16-yard touchdown pass to extend Seattle's lead to 19-0.

In the end, it was Seattle's only offensive touchdown of the game. It was enough to secure the win as a late New England scoring surge fell short.

Darnold didn't have his best game while completing 19 of 38 passes for 202 yards with 1 touchdown. But he didn't collapse or even make a notable mistake, which was all the Seahawks needed from him Sunday night. 

Drake Maye's bad interception

The Patriots responded to Darnold's touchdown pass with their first score of the day on a quick strike touchdown drive that covered 65 yards on three plays, keeping pressure on the Seahawks. 

But on New England's next possession, Seattle took the ball right back. With a chance to cut their deficit to one possession, the Patriots drove near midfield with momentum on their side. But Maye offered an underthrown ball into traffic that safety Julian Love intercepted and returned 35 yards. 

Before the pick that was New England's best chance to make it a game. 

Seahawks score on defense 

If Maye's first interception didn't ice the game, his second did. With Seattle holding a 22-7 lead late in the fourth quarter, Maye wound up for what was intended to be a deep pass. It barely moved forward. Cornerback Devon Witherspoon hit him as he released the ball.

Linebacker Uchenna Nwosu snagged it and took it 45 yards for what initially looked like a fumble return for a touchdown. 

Scorers ruled the play an interception instead of a fumble and recovery. 

No matter. The result of the play was the same: a Seattle touchdown and a 29-7 lead.

Kenneth Walker's big runs keep Seattle moving early

We're cheating here a bit. This is two plays.

But Kenneth Walker III's back-to-back big runs early in the game kept an otherwise stagnant Seattle offense moving.

With Seattle holding a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter, Walker broke containment around the left edge and ran 30 yards down the sideline to get into New England territory. 

After a Darnold incompletion on the ensuing first down, the Seahawks went back to Walker. He delivered again, this time with a 29-yard run up the middle and toward the right sideline to the New England 17.

Walker's two runs accounted for more than the 55 yards Seattle gained on the drive and set up Jason Myers for a 39-yard field goal and a 6-0 Seattle lead. 

In the end, Walker's efforts added up to 135 yards on 27 carries (5 yards per carry). And his two big first half runs were a big reason he won Super Bowl MVP.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sunday was a good night for all of the Seattle Seahawks, Jason Myers included. 

The Seahawks kicker was a busy man as Seattle piled on against the New England Patriots in a 29-13 win and set multiple records in the process.

Through three quarters, Myers was the only player to crack the scoreboard with four field goals as the Seahawks build a 12-0 lead. Then in the fourth quarter, Meyers kicked his fifth field goal of the game to extend Seattle's lead to 22-7.

That set a new Super Bowl record. No other kicker in Super Bowl history has made five field goals in a game. 

But Myers wasn't just excellent in Sunday's game. He's been doing this all season. And Sunday's effort gave him the NFL's all-time scoring record for a single season and postseason combined.

San Diego Chargers great LaDainian Tomlinson held the record heading into the game with 198 points during his landmark 2006 season. Myers had 189 points heading into Sunday's game. With 17 total points (five field goals and two extra points) Sunday night, Myers finishes his season with 206 points, claiming the record as his own.

Those 17 points also set a new Super Bowl record. No kicker before Myers had scored that many points in a Super Bowl. 

All in all, it added up to a standout night to cap a standout season for both the Seahawks and their sensational kicker.