Seattle Tie Things Up Right on Half Time

It may have given us one of the most talked about finishes in sporting history, but this game didn’t start with a flourish. The teams worked their way into things, testing out matchups and, in the Patriots’ case, showing their intentions. The Pats were looking for short completions, while Russell Wilson and the Seahawks struggled for any completions at all. An interception by Jeremy Lane kept Tom Brady from an early touchdown and the first quarter finished scoreless.

But in the second New England take a deserved lead. They’d shut down Seattle’s offence entirely to that point and it only seemed like a matter of time. Brandon LaFell made the catch. Tom Brady had 14 completions before Wilson had his first one, yet Wilson finally found an outlet that paid off in Chris Matthews, a former CFL star who hadn’t made a catch all season. Wilson hits him deep for 44 yards, Marshawn Lynch runs it in, 7-7.

The Patriots hit right back to regain the lead with an 8 play drive that culminated in a 22 yard catch by Rob Gronkowski in the corner. That gave Seattle 31 seconds to get to work.

Turbin runs for 19 yards on first down. Timeout Seattle, 21 secs left. Wilson scrambles for 17 yards from the shotgun, followed by an incompletion. Then he hits Ricardo Lockette for 23 yards with a penalty on top of it and it’s First and 10 at the NE 11 with six seconds on the clock. Timeout.

And so after a half where the Seahawks had struggled to get much going offensively at all, in a position where most would settle for a field goal, Russell Wilson shoots one into the corner for the touchdown. It’s a Tied game at half time, and the Seahawks were feeling good about it.

Brady Gets Picked By Bobby Wagner After Pats Fall Behind

Seattle get the ball back after half time. Marshawn Lynch makes a nice play, then Chris Matthews pops up again with a long completion. From Second and 3 at the NE 10, the Pats defence does a great job to keep them to a field goal but regardless, the Seahawks are now on top 17-14. The next possession Tom Brady looks to force one over the middle to Gronk. Up steps Bobby Wagner with a great play to make the interception. Seattle have the ball and they have the momentum.

Although it should be noted that this was the play where Cliff Avril was concussed and forced to leave the game. His pass rush from Defensive End, along with DT Michael Bennett, was giving Brady fits. After he left, Bennett was able to be isolated and Brady had more success.

Doug Baldwin Makes it a 10 Point Lead

On the ensuing possession after the interception, Doug Baldwin gets away from coverage, leaving Darrelle Revis on the ground. Revis had been obstructed by a referee as Baldwin cleverly angled his route. Baldwin makes the catch, gets flagged for his celebration and the Seahawks lead by 10 points. That’s a lead never before overcome in the second half of a Super Bowl.

Third & Long, Enter Incredelman

Into the fourth quarter and down by 10. The Patriots got a few stops to limit the enormity of the task ahead of them, yet the fact was they needed at least 10 points or the game was gone and time was starting to run out. When Brady was sacked on first down with 12:10 left, things felt ominous. A short completion to LaFell made it Third and 14 on their own 28. A massive play coming up just to avoid another three and out.

Seattle send four pass rushers, but the Patriots do a good job of blocking them. Brady steps up through the pocket and fire a bullet to Julian Edelman, dropping under double coverage. 21 yards, the drive continues.

Then later on in the drive, Edelman makes another 21 yard reception, this time on a Third and 8 within field goal range.

Back Within Three After Amendola’s Score

The very next play Edelman almost makes it a triple play of crucial catches. He rips his marker with a stunning spin move but Brady’s throw was too high on what would have been a sure-thing TD. The Pats QB immediately made up for that on second down when he nailed Danny Amendola over the middle to make it a three point game. Now it’s New England who are rolling and Seattle trying to hang on.

Wilson & Lynch Miss on Third Down

A Third and 5 with a three point lead. There are just over seven minutes on the clock. If Seattle can hit right back and extend that lead, or even if they can just work some time off the clock, then back to back Super Bowls are within their grasp. It looks as though Marshawn Lynch, peeling down the sideline, has the space to make the catch but he stutters his run and the pass sails beyond him. QB and RB on the wrong page there, Seattle punt it back.

Brady Drives in the Go-Ahead Score

To Julian Edelman, of course. Capping off one of the great drives of Tom Brady’s legendary career. Getting the ball on the 36, Brady threw 8 short completions in a row (with a PI flag ruling out a ninth and a Vereen run also mixed in), the final being a three yard score to Edelman on exactly the same play as Brady missed him on last time. Skillful, determined and assured. This against the best defensive unit in the league. Incredible stuff. Suddenly the Patriots rally had blossomed. They led the game, the championship was in their hands if they could only hold on for two more minutes…

The Kearse Catch

And then this happened. It was Vietnam Flashbacks all across Patriots Nation as the comparisons to Tyree and Manningham came bursting through the collective unconscious. Twice before these Patriots had been thwarted in the biggest game of the season by catches that simply have to be seen to be believed. David Tyree’s helmet catch, Mario Manningham’s effort on the sideline… now it seemed like Jermaine Kearse was to be added to the list.

Kearse had gone up for the ball but Malcolm Butler got his hands on it to bat it away. Except that the ball landed on Kearse’s leg, he juggles it, gets a hand on it, bats at it and then catches it for good. Patriots defenders have the awareness to push him out of bounds but they were only five yards from victory. Five yards that would define the fates of two teams, two realms of fans. You can talk about luck, about destiny, about curses, anything. When a play like that happens, all bets are off.

Marshawn Lynch Is Tackled Just Short of the Goalline

What followed this next play complicated things immensely, but none of it may have mattered had Marshawn Lynch scored on first down. Five yards to go and he runs for four of them. It looked like he’d score too but Dont'a Hightower manages to split a block and drag ol’ Beast Mode to the ground. The same Dont'a Hightower who is scheduled for shoulder surgery now having basically played the game with one arm and a torn labrum. Possibly the undercover play of the game, especially in hindsight.

At the time there will have been Patriots fans wondering whether it might not have been better to let him score, a la when they last played the Super Bowl (2011 vs the NY Giants). It’d have given them about a minute to drive down and hit a field goal to take it to overtime. Instead Lynch is tackled and Belichick chooses not to call a timeout. The clock ticks down. It still felt like the Seahawks would score, surely they would.

RUN THE GODDAMN BALL!

As soon as Belichick failed to call a timeout, with the Seahawks on Second and Goal from the one yard line, intentions were clear all around. The Patriots were backing themselves to keep Seattle out on defence at the risk of removing the safety blanket of time that Brady may need to get them in field goal range should the ‘Hawks score. They liked the matchup, they’d practised for two weeks for this situation, running plays and studying tape. They didn’t want to give Seattle the chance to sub in any alternatives.

Now you can say what you want about what Seattle chose to do next. Everybody else is. With one of the best running backs in the NFL, a man nearly impossible to stop in short yardage against a team that had struggled in these situations during the season, they chose to throw it. Ricardo Lockette makes the slanting run inside, Malcolm Butler steps up and the undrafted rookie makes the play of his career to intercept the ball. The Patriots have it, the game is over if they can make a yard to take a knee. They draw an offside, frustrations boil over. The game ends. The New England Patriots are champions. Unbelievable.