While the New England Patriots were in victory formation on their way to capturing their fourth Super Bowl title in 14 years, a brawl broke out on the line of scrimmage. The fight accurately portrayed the high intensity that was displayed throughout the entire contest, displaying how high the stakes were for both teams. Superbowl XLIX was the most watched television event in history and it deserved to be.
Since the game’s conclusion, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has received a lot of criticism about his decision to throw the ball at the one yard line. He made the right decision. Everyone watching- on the sidelines, in Glendale, and in living rooms across the country— thought running back Marshawn Lynch was going to pound the ball into the endzone to give Seattle another Vince Lombardi trophy. Perhaps that’s why Carroll elected to throw the slant pass.
Russell Wilson should have been the hero. He was the league’s top rushing quarterback all season. If Wilson had bootlegged out of the pocket on a play-action fake to Lynch, all eleven of New England’s defenders would have been forced to pay attention to him, leaving room for a Seattle receiver to get open for an easy score. I don’t disagree with Carroll’s thought to go through the air, but a smarter, more heads-up play call could have sealed the game for Seattle, especially since the Patriots neglected to call a timeout to let the game clock run down to under 30 seconds before the interception was thrown.
However, the build up before the game was just as controversial as the last 20 seconds.
“Deflategate” stole the show the two weeks leading up to the game. The Patriots spent the entire time denying that they had any knowledge of the deflated balls used against the Colts and were set on proving to the world that they did not need to cheat to win. The Seahawks were looking to be the first team since New England to win back-to-back Super Bowls. Both teams had something to prove and the intensity for each team showed during the 60 minutes of play.
Even those who just watched the game for the commercials or Katy Perry’s halftime performance turned into football fans by the game’s end. The first half was a chess match with both teams clearly showing their game plans. New England kept it simple with short passes to methodically drive down the field. Seattle ran the ball with both Lynch and Wilson while taking occasional shots downfield. New England gave Seattle a steady dose of their proven combination of Tom Brady, Julian Edelman, and Rob Gronkowski in the passing attack. Seattle got a breakout performance from wide receiver Chris Matthews, who was selling shoes at Footlocker at the beginning of the season and made his first reception and scored the first touchdown of his career in the Super Bowl.
In the third quarter, the Seahawks jumped out to a 10 point lead before Brady responded to put the Patriots back in front with 2:02 remaining in the fourth quarter. With 1:06 remaining, Seattle was given one last chance to win thanks to an amazing 33-yard juggling catch by wide receiver Jermaine Kearse which brought his team five yards away from victory. Marshawn Lynch rushed for four yards on first down. And then— the interception.
In the shoes of a New England fan— a rookie, Malcolm Butler, saved the Super Bowl, making it an even greater ending.
Brady took home his third Super Bowl MVP award, throwing for four touchdowns to set the record for the most career touchdown passes in the Super Bowl. Even with his great performance Brady plans on giving his new truck that he earned for winning MVP to the rookie that saved the day.
After watching the game it is hard to think of an element that was missing. It was truly a game that had it all. Power running by Seattle, breakout performers, big time plays, and emotions boiling over into punches being thrown. It will be hard for future Super Bowls to live up to the incredible play that Super Bowl XLIX displayed. More people watched this game than any other television event in history for a reason. The NFL gained more fans and will look to break its own record next season.
