Seattle's Questionable Call Helps Pats Win First Super Bowl in a Decade

Malcolm Butler's (21) game winning pick, grabbing the
ball from Ricardo Lockette (83) (Google Images)

Super Bowl XLIX was everything a super bowl should be, especially following last season's 43-8 blowout of the Denver Broncos. It was a close game the entire way, even into the final seconds when a fight broke out and a key play won the Patriots their fourth Lombardi Trophy by a score of 28-24.

With literally seconds to go, it appeared that the Seattle Seahawks were on their way to a second consecutive super bowl victory. Then, on the one yard line, Seattle head coach Pete Carroll decided to have Russell Wilson throw the ball rather than hand it off to Marshawn Lynch. The result of the play: an interception in the end zone by Pats' rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler with 20 seconds left that won New England the game.

The debate is still raging as to whether or not Carroll should have called for Wilson to throw that fateful short slant to Ricardo Lockette rather than have Lynch run it in from inside the one-yard line. After all, the guy's called "Beast Mode" for a reason and, next to Jamal Charles, he's arguably one of the best, most versatile backs in the league. But while Carroll admitted he thought about calling a run play, he felt that throwing it offered his team the best shot to win.

"I made the decision," the coach told ESPN post game. "I said 'throw the ball,' and we went with the play that we thought would give us a chance to get in the end zone. We were going to run the ball, but not on that play. I didn't want to waste a run play on their goal-line guys. It was a clear thought, but it didn't work out right. [Butler] made a play that no one would have thought he could make."



Refs try to break up the fight at the end of the game (Google Images)

Players, pundits, and fans alike have been questioning Carroll's decision to call that ill-fated pass, saying that it was that play that cost the Seahawks their second championship. While that might be true, with a game as close as this one was it's hard to say that the final score came down to one play.


The game began with a scoreless first quarter and saw New England draw first blood a few minutes into the second when Brady connected with wide receiver Brandon LaFell. But Seattle answered right back when Lynch scored the Hawks' first points of the game two positions later. The rest of the quarter saw both teams score one more touchdown each. Going into halftime, the score was tied at 14-all and it was anyone's game to win.

After Katy Perry performed in the Pepsi halftime show, it was time to get back to one of the most exciting super bowl's in recent memory. The Seahawks went on to shut out the Patriots in the third quarter, while tacking on ten more points themselves. But once the fourth quarter started, the excitement and suspense went up in a hurry. Brady managed to throw two touchdown passes to wide receivers Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman respectively and put his team out front by a score of 28-24. The four point deficit meant that the Seahawks needed a touchdown to win the game. No small task with two minutes left in the Super Bowl.

Wilson managed to lead his team down the field in miraculous fashion and following a circus catch by Jermaine Kearse, Seattle was at New England's 5-yard line and one play away from winning their second Lombardi Trophy. Beast Mode then gained his team one more yard after a handoff from Wilson, but Pats linebacker Dont'a Hightower stopped him from getting any further. Then, on the following snap, Wilson threw that ill-fated slant that was picked by Butler in the end zone, winning the game for New England.

When the Patriots offense retook the field, Brady had to get out of the end zone and avoid a safety before he could take a knee to seal the victory. But rather than having to do the work himself, Seattle handed New England another gift. This time, it was five free yards because defensive end Michael Bennett was called for encroachment. The following snap, Brady took a knee and the game was over. But that didn't mean that the players' emotions died down any.

Tom Brady with his fourth Lombardy Trophy (Google Images)

Seahawks linebacker Bruce Irvin, as well as the rest of the Legion of Boom, got into a shoving match with the Patriots' offensive line. Irvin wound up getting himself ejected because he traded punches with Pats tight end Rob Gronkowski. Even though this skirmish tarnished what was otherwise an absolutely fantastic game, Brady took another knee and, once the clock wound down took his fourth Lombardi Trophy. This was the Patriots' fourth Super Bowl title and their first one in a decade, and this most recent victory will not be without it's controversy.

In the wake of "Deflategate," many will question the merits of the team that won the game. Should this game have an asterisk next to it in the history books? I wouldn't go that far because the Patriots' balls had to be legal. No team could be stupid enough to play with footballs with low air pressure two weeks after the NFL nailed them for it. Plus, while it is an advantage, it's really not the kind of thing that's going to make that big of a difference. Like Patriots' owner Robert Kraft said after the game, they beat the Colts in the AFC Championship game 45-7 and they won the Super Bowl 28-24. The other team still has to play well and the Seahawks played better than the Colts did.

The Patriots won Super Bowl XIX and with the way they played and came back against the Seahawks, they showed they deserved to be on that stage with that trophy.