Leading up to Super Bowl Sunday, many had predicted an intense, close football game that would come down to the wire. And what transpired between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots for Super Bowl XLIX was nothing short of an instant classic. With such story lines as Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll vying for back-to-back Lombardi Trophies and Tom Brady and Bill Belichick looking to further cement their names among the game's all-time greats heading into the match up, only one team's hopes and dreams would come to fruition. For the Patriots who had not won a playoff game away from home since the 2006 season, a win would tie QB Tom Brady with Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to win four Super Bowl's. But standing in the way of Tom Terrific was a Seattle defense which has earned its way into the discussion of potentially the greatest defense the NFL has ever seen. And with the Seahawks trying to become the first back-to-back champs since the 2003-04 Patriots, there was plenty to be played for.
Though the game's first quarter would be a scoreless one, it wouldn't go uneventful as a missed roughing the kicker penalty on New England's opening-drive followed by a red zone mishap by Tom Brady made for an entertaining opening quarter. After forcing a three and out on Seattle's first drive on offense, Brady marched the New England offense all the way down to the 10-yard line where he would be picked off in the end zone. Under heavy pressure, Brady had his pass intercepted by Seattle's Jeremy Lane in what would be his only mistake of the ball game. However, the Seahawks would fail to capitalize on the turnover and Brady would make them pay for it by scoring a touchdown on their next drive as he found receiver Brandon LaFell in the end zone. If the mistake on the early interception by Brady woke up the Patriots, Brady's touchdown had awoken Russell Wilson and the Seattle offense as the Seahawks tied the game two drives later on Marshawn Lynch's touchdown. After becoming the first QB in Super Bowl history to not have a single pass attempt in the first quarter, Wilson found a friend in rookie wide-out Chris Matthews who's 44-yard reception helped set up the easy score.
Seattle's successful trip to the end zone would help ignite four consecutive scoring drives for the Seahawks but not before Brady could pull his team back on top, capped by a touchdown hauled in by Rob Gronkowski from 22-yards out. With only 31 seconds remaining before the end of the first half, Seattle fans would've been more than satisfied with a field goal to cut the deficit to four heading into the half. But back to back plays of 19 and 17 yards followed by a 38 yard gain on a pass along the sideline which ended with a face mask penalty on the defense, would lead to a gutsy decision by Pete Carroll. With just 6 seconds before the end of the half, Carroll elected to gamble with a shot to tie it. A decision which would pay off as Wilson once again connected with Chris Matthews, this time in the end zone to tie the game at 14-all. Whatever Carroll and the Seahawks coaching staff addressed in the locker room during the half payed dividends on the field as Seattle came out guns blazing to start the second half. After scoring on a Steven Hauschka field goal to take their first lead of the ball game, Seattle linebacker Bobby Wagner stepped in front of Gronkowski to force the turnover as Brady was picked off for a second time.
Six plays later, Wilson found a wide-open Doug Baldwin on the right side of the end zone to give Seattle a 24-14 lead. Having allowed 17 unanswered-points, New England was in need of score. Facing a 10-point deficit entering the fourth quarter against the most dominant defense in the league, it would be up to Brady to rally his team to victory. The odds would be stacked against him, however, as teams with two interceptions thrown in the Super Bowl were a combined 4-28 all-time. Not to mention Seattle owned a perfect record of 18-0 over the last three seasons when leading by 10-points or more heading into the 4th quarter. After setting an NFL record by starting in his sixth Super Bowl, Brady added another record to his resume as he surpassed his boyhood idol Joe Montana for the most touchdowns in Super Bowl history (12) by finding Danny Amendola from 4-yards out to pull New England within a field goal. In need of a stop on defense, the Pats forced a Seattle three and out which put the ball back into Brady's hands with just under 7 minutes remaining.
Using his pinpoint precision to perfection, Brady made a series of short passes to march his team down the field. And before you knew it, the Patriots were starring down the end zone with a chance to recapture the lead. Battling a concussion which he chose to play through as we learned after the game, Julian Edelman who caught a game-high 9 passes for 109 yards, capped off the drive by scoring the go-ahead touchdown to give New England the 28-24 lead. But as brilliant a job Tom Brady did in executing the Patriots' touchdown scoring drive, he left Russell Wilson with just over 2 minutes in regulation which as we all learned in the NFC Championship is more than enough time for the former third round pick who also had the two-minute warning and all three timeouts to play with. And after a 31-yard pickup on a pass down the sideline to Marshawn Lynch of all people on first down, we were all reminded why Wilson and the Seahawks were knocking on the door of winning their second consecutive championship. Then came arguably the most miraculous catch in Super Bowl history as a pass intended for Jermaine Kearse was deflected and then juggled by Kearse who was on his back and still managed to come up with the catch for a 33-yard pickup.
Though Kearse deserves all the credit in the world for being able to hang on to the ball, the awareness by New England safety Malcolm Butler should not go unnoticed as he was the one who tipped the ball and still got up in time to push Kearse out of bounds. Had it not been for Butler's awareness, Kearse would've scored easily. But even then, Butler felt as though he let his team down as he made a play on the ball and yet Kearse still came up with the catch and a big one at that. Butler, an undrafted rookie out of West Alabama had only 15 career tackles under his belt in 13 games and had never recorded a single NFL interception. But just two plays later, the man who had been employed at a Popeye's chicken shack before Bill Belichick gave him a look, would make the biggest play of his life. With everyone on planet earth anticipating Marshawn Lynch who had been on an absolute tear the entire second half to rush the ball, we were given a surprise. Facing a 2nd and goal from the 1-yard line, Pete Carroll elected to roll the dice as Russell Wilson stepped back to pass. With Ricardo Lockette cutting inside, Wilson threw his way but Butler read the play and jumped out in front of him, cutting him off and nabbing the ball for the interception.
And while it would be only the first interception thrown from the 1-yard line this entire season, it couldn't have come at a more crucial time. But even after coming up with the pick, the game wasn't over yet as the Patriots were at the 1-yard line and were in need of some wiggle room as a kneel down would've resulted in a safety. Hoping to draw a defender off-sides before hiking the ball, Brady and company succeeded as linebacker Michael Bennett who had been penalized more than anybody in the league this season for off-sides, jumped the gun one final time, costing his team a shot at making the stop. The costly penalty would stir emotions as the two teams came to blows when a fracas broke out on the very next play, resulting in Seattle's Bruce Irvin being ejected. He wouldn't miss much, however, as Brady knelled on the very next play to end it, sealing the victory and dethroning the Seahawks as New England completed the 10-point fourth quarter comeback which tied them for the largest comeback in Super Bowl history.
Super Bowl MVP would be awarded to Tom Brady who for the fourth time in his career led his team on the game-winning drive in the fourth quarter of a Super Bowl, taking home the honors for a third time which ties him with Joe Montana for the most all-time. The triumph puts Brady alone in the discussion of the game's greatest QB's of all-time alongside Montana. As for Bill Belichick, only he and Steelers legendary head coach Chuck Noll have coached a team to four wins in the Super Bowl which undoubtedly has to catapult him to the top of the list. Then again, we might have to keep our breathe held with the ongoing investigation revolving 'Deflate Gate' and wait to see how if at all it effects the legacy of Brady & Belichick.
As for Seattle, the Seahawks become the first defending champs to lose in the Super Bowl since the 1997 Green Bay Packers who lost to John Elway and the Denver Broncos. With everyone and their brother in utter disbelief that Pete Carroll who took full responsibility for the decision, chose to pass on second down instead of handing the ball off to Marshawn Lynch, the play will go down as arguably the worst play-call in Super Bowl history, so bad that some fans have even called for his job (and head). Personally, I thought Russell Wilson would have and should have got the nod to run it in, but that's just me. For what it's worth, the NFC's No. 1 seeds have now lost 6 of the last 8 Super Bowl appearances. And while it's defense that normally wins championships, not this time around as teams with the No. 1 ranked scoring defense during the regular season have now fallen to 13-4 in the Super Bowl. Despite the loss, the Las Vegas sports books didn't hesitate to label Seattle as the odds on favorite to win it all next season. But with their defensive coordinator out the door on his way to claim the head coaching position in Atalanta and the NFC Western division only getting better year after year, it won't be an easy task to make it back to the big game, let alone win their division.
In my opinion, Super Bowl XLIX was a game that'll go down in the history books as one of the most memorable games in Super Bowl history and was a true emotional roller-coaster. The game broke the record as the most watched event in American television history and truly had it all as you went from thinking a Seattle comeback was inevitable given the way they were marching down the field towards the end, especially after Kearse's divine catch, and then the unthinkable happened. We can only hope as fans that next year's Super Bowl which will be league's 50th, will be half as exciting as this one was.
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