One year after we saw a the Denver Broncos take a shellacking from the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII, we may have witnessed the greatest Super Bowl of this generation and if it’s not the greatest, it will be by far the most dramatic. Amid all of the controversy surrounding the deflated balls in the AFC Championship game the Patriots found a way to outlast the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX.
After a scoreless first quarter both teams hit there stride in the second. The Patriots struck first as they capped off a 65 yard nine play drive with an 11 yard pass to Brandon LaFell. The Seahawks would get on the board later in the quarter after forcing a Patriots punt. The eight play 70 yard drive was highlighted by Chris Matthews’ 44 yard snag against Patriots cornerback Kyle Arrington. After scoring a touchdown with 31 seconds left in the half the Patriots were poised to go into halftime with the lead, but Seattle had other plans. The Seahawks drove 80 yards in five plays to tie the game at 14 a piece.
Seattle used the momentum they gained from their last second score at the end of the first half as they opened the third quarter with a field goal. Then after Bobby Wagner’s interception of Tom Brady the Seahawks looked in control as they would go on to take a ten point lead with a Russell Wilson touchdown toss. The Seahawks stifled the Patriots offense for most of the second half before Tom Brady led a nine play 68 yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. The Patriots forced a Seattle punt, they then drove 64 yards to take a 28-24 lead on a pass from Brady to Julian Edelman with only two minutes left in the game.
This is where things got really interesting, after a touchback Wilson threw a bomb down the sideling to an open Marshawn Lynch who was stopped at the 50 yard line. This brought the game to the two minute warning. After two incompletions and 11 completion to Ricardo Lockette, Wilson heaved one deep to Jermaine Kearse who gained a step on Patriots corner Malcolm Butler. Kearse did his best David Tyree impression and came down with a ridiculous juggling catch.A few plays later the Seahawks were poised to score the go ahead touchdown with a Marshawn Lynch run, but with what can only be described as an act of Divine intervention instead threw a slant pattern that was picked off by Malcom Butler. The interception that came with only 20 seconds left sealed the win for New England who would go on to run out the clock.
As the clocked ticked down tempers on the field flared as the Patriots were in victory formation taking a knee. Some pushing and shoving began between Seattle linebacker Bruce Irvin and Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. Irvin also got into it with Michael Hoomanawanui and was subsequently ejected with 18 seconds left in the game. Seattle defensive tackle Michael Bennett and Patriots center Ryan Wendell were two noticeable participants in the brawl as well. Expect fines to be levied by the league office.
Tom Brady will be taking a trip to Disneyland with Giselle as he was voted Super Bowl MVP. Brady finished 37/50 for 328 yards four touchdowns and two interceptions. Wide receiver Julian Edelman had a phenomenal game making several catches that sparked the comeback including a 21 yarder over the middle on third and 14 where he took a shot from Kam Chancellor. Edelman finished with nine receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown. Seattle’s Jeremy Lane made a drive ending interception in the red zone during the first quarter. Afterward he immediately left the game with an injury. His absence may have contributed to the Patriots success in the passing game. On the offensive side of the ball the usual suspects showed up for Seattle as Wilson went 12/21 for 247 yards, two touchdowns, an interception, and rushed for 39 yards while Lynch rushed for 102 yards on 24 attempts and a touchdown. However, receiver Chris Matthews surprisingly came up big for Seattle. He ended his day with four receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown.
