As the New England Patriots waited in anticipation to see if their defense could hold up at the goal line against the Seattle Seahawks, Pete Carroll’s players had to figure they were one more Marshawn Lynch yard away from hoisting a second consecutive Lombardi.
Rather than handing the ball off to Lynch, one of the NFL’s best running backs in the game, the Seahawks decided to go with a passing play that was intercepted by rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler. Needless to say, that sealed the fate of the Seahawks’ loss in Super Bowl XLIX.
In an interview with the NFL Network, Tom Brady had this to say regarding Seattle’s last second call to pass instead of run.
I don’t know man. I’m glad they didn’t (hand the ball to Lynch). Love the choice they made. You kidding me? I love that choice.
Even though the Patriots won, many players—including cornerback Darrelle Revis—were completely perplexed by the surprising choice of the play call (via NFL.com).
As I look back at it, yeah, I was very shocked and surprised that they threw the ball.
Why the Seahawks did not decide to get the ball into Lynch’s hands, who rushed for 1,306 yards and score 13 rushing touchdowns over the 2014 season, will be the question of the year. Forget who deflated the Patriots’ footballs during the conference playoffs, let’s figure out what the heck Seattle was thinking at that moment.
Photo: NFL.com