It was supposed to be David Tyree all over again, but seven years after the Patriots’ hearts were broken in Phoenix, last night’s game on the same field had a different ending. This time, the Patriots would be the team to make the last crazy play in what will likely go down as one of the craziest Super Bowls of all time.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who eventually took home his third Super Bowl MVP award, engineered a perfect fourth quarter against the Seattle Seahawks defense, scoring 14 points. Entering the quarter, the Patriots were down 24-14. Even with 10 minutes left, the Patriots were still down 10 points. Then, Brady threw two touchdown passes, leaving Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson and running back Marshawn Lynch with 2:02 left to play.
Seattle was marching down the field with efficiency when Wilson threw it to Jermaine Kearse, who made a miracle catch. Suddenly, NBC was re-playing Tyree’s helmet catch that helped the New York Giants beat the Patriots in 2008. It was a nightmarish turn of events, as the ball was now at the 5-year line.
On the next play, Wilson passed the ball to Lynch, who the Patriots managed to stop at the 1-yard line. Then, Wilson bizarrely threw the ball into coverage and didn’t see Patriots undrafted rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler. The pass went straight into Butler’s arms and, with only 20 seconds left, sealed the victory for the Patriots.
“[Wilson] kept looking [toward the receivers], he kept his head still and just looked over there, so that gave me a clue,” Butler said after the game, notes The Boston Globe. “I just knew they were going to throw. My instincts, I just went with it, just went with my mind and made the play.”
While in New England, Butler has already been anointed a hero, in Seattle, fingers are being pointed. Who on earth decided to have Wilson throw that ball when Lynch is standing in the backfield?
“It’s not the right matchup for us to run the football,” Seattle head coach Pete Carroll said, reports the Seattle Times. “So on second down, we throw the ball, really to kind of waste that play. If we score, we do. If we don’t, then we’ll run it on third and fourth down. Really, with no second thoughts or hesitation in that at all.”
Whatever excuse Carroll and his coaching staff will come up with in the years following the game, it will still go down as the worst play calling in football history.
But the Seahawks had just won last year’s Super Bowl, when they stomped over the Denver Broncos. This win was more important for the Patriots, who were marking a decade since their last Super Bowl win. It was their first since the Spygate fiasco. It came after two weeks of coverage over deflated footballs.
For the NFL, it is the end of a horrific season of off-the-field controversies, from its incomprehensible handling of Ray Rice to Adrian Peterson’s child abuse charges. Commissioner Roger Goodell was even booed by the Patriots fans in Phoenix who stayed to watch the trophy ceremony. But for now, all everyone in sports media will be talking about is the most bizarre two minutes in Super Bowl history.
Brady finished the game 37-for-50, with 328 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. Julian Edelman, who could have also been considered the Super Bowl MVP, had nine receptions for 109 yards.
image courtesy of Jennifer Graylock/INFphoto.com