It’s crazy to think that just one bad decision can change the whole outcome of a game. Nobody knows this better then Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks, who watched their chances of a second consecutive Super Bowl championship diminish with a single play.
Offense wasn’t a big impact in the first quarter of the game, as back-and-forth exchanges resulted in no score by the end of the first quarter. A huge impact play happened late in the first quarter by Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane, when he intercepted a pass thrown by Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in the end zone.
You would think this would benefit the Seahawks, but Lane was injured on that play, putting him out for the reminder of the game. This turned out to be a huge help for the Patriots later in the game, because the Seahawks had to use backup cornerback Tharold Simon.
In the second quarter, both the Patriots and Seahawks went back and forth on offense, scoring two offensive touchdowns. Seattle scored with two seconds left in the first half, and received the ball in the second half. It looked like the Seahawks had a heavy advantage and a good chance at winning the game.
The third quarter was all Seahawks; they put up 10 points, shutting out the Patriots. Heading into the fourth quarter, all Seattle had to do was hold the Patriots.
New England was down, but they certainly were not out. With Brady’s experience and head coach Bill Belichick, you can never count the Patriots out of any game. They fired back with two touchdowns of their own, and held Seattle without scoring. Down 28-24 with two minutes left Seattle had to score a touchdown, or give up the comeback victory to the Patriots.
Seattle drove down the field with a big completion from quarterback Russell Wilson to running back Marshawn Lynch that got Seattle near the 50-yard line. Another huge play for Seattle on this drive was a completed pass from Wilson to wide receiver Jermaine Kearse, bringing it to the 5-yard line. As he was falling down, Kearse’s catch bounced off a couple of his limbs and fell into his hands, in what was probably one of the craziest catches in Super Bowl history. I believe, I can speak for everybody when I say that ball did not look like a catch from first view, but upon replay it was a catch, a spectacular one.
Following a 4-yard rush by Lynch, Seattle stood at the 1-yard line with 1:30 left to score. Everybody expected Seattle to run the ball in with Lynch, but for some odd reason Seattle chose to pass and the result was an interception. The ball ended up in Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler’s hands, sealing a 28-24 Super Bowl win for the Patriots.
Passing in that situation is almost inexcusable, especially when you have such a talented goal-line running back like Lynch. This will go down as one of the worst play calls in Super Bowl history, if not the worst play call. While watching the game and seeing them pass the ball, most people, like myself, wonder why was Seattle not running the ball. If I were the offensive coordinator without a doubt I would have handed the ball to Marshawn Lynch, because it’s a guarantee Seahawks win.
Why did the Seahawks choose to pass the ball in that situation? Were they hoping to catch the Patriots off guard? Were they trying to make Wilson the hero of the game? We will probably never know. No matter what the reason, it was the wrong decision and cost Seattle back-to-back titles.
