Patriots Win Super Bowl After Shocking Finish
Tom Brady led the New England Patriots back from a 10 point deficit and into the lead in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIX, but then the Seahawks came storming back. Wide receiver Jermaine Kearse made a circus catch at the New England five yard line with 1:06 left, and Marshawn Lynch then took it to the one yard line. It was second down, a yard to go to win, and Seattle still had one time out left. According to all that is holy in football, the next sequence would have been to give the ball to Lynch, and if he didn’t make it, call time out and then give it to him again. The way Lynch had been breaking tackles both at this game and all season long, there was next to no way he wouldn’t get that yard if he had two attempts. Seattle would make a miraculous comeback, as it had done over Green bay in the NFC Championship two weeks earlier, and win the Super Bowl.
But then a funny thing happened. Seattle coach Pete Carroll called for a pass. Then strong safety Malcolm Butler, an undrafted rookie out of Division II West Alabama, did what needed to be done. He made a play. In fact, he made a huge play, picking off Russell Wilson’s pass and sealing the victory for New England.
Why did Carroll take the risk of throwing the ball in that situation? Did he think he could outsmart the opposition? Or did he get the arrogant idea that the Seahawks were living a charmed life and were unbeatable? Every football player, past and present, who is on Twitter tweeted his disdain for the call. Carroll will be explaining this one for years to come, and the Seahawks will have a long spring and summer to contemplate “what if”.
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The bottom line is this was a fantastic Super Bowl. Highest viewership of any Super Bowl in history. No one should be disappointed. This is a game that lived up to the hype including Katy Perry’s half-time performance.
I’m a NY Giants fan and wanted to see Seattle win. Everyone can 2nd guess what Carroll should have done but no one could say unequivocally that running the ball would have worked. Anything could have happened.
Any try is better than no try. Brady had 2 interceptions and Wilson had one. Wilson’s misfortune is that his came at a crucial time that determined the outcome of the game. Brady goes down in the history books after a 15-year run as a 4x Super Bowl QB champ. Something Peyton Manning could not do last year against the same thing.
Imo, not a time for criticism but praise for Brady and the NE Patriots. Give credit where credit is due even if was not the team I was pulling for. The real winners of this game were the viewers.
Yes it was a very entertaining game. Patriots fans are ecstatic, Seahawks fans are in shock, and everyone else got to see a very exciting game. It was a great way to close out the season.
There are some pass plays which could be forgiven: a rollout with an “out” route where only a Seahawk could catch the ball or might take some time off of the clock if the ball is thrown far out of the end zone.This would also give Lynch a short breather. Indeed, the worst call is a slant into an already full box: that is the part that was absolutely ridiculous.
True, Wilson could have gone outside with a receiver in front of him to throw to; with his speed he might have scored himself, or if he couldn’t complete the pass just throw it away, stopping the clock and saving Seattle’s last time out. Lynch would have had third and fourth down to try to score.