What a classic game, I must say. It was a thriller down to the last seconds…and then became an even bigger thriller. Ultimately, the New England Patriots stole the win from the Seattle Seahawks (with fully inflated balls) but, just in case you missed it, here is what went down.
The Patriots and the Seahawks, early in the game, surprised tons of viewers being that most people thought the Seahawks were going to easily roll pass the Patriots on their way to their second straight Super Bowl win. But, did we all forget that the Holy Grail of Quarterbacks was at the steering wheel of the Patriots team? At the half, the game was tied up 14-14. Then things began to look like what we all expected.
The Seahawks, seemingly, began to pull away 24-14 with a field goal on their first drive in the new half and a touchdown pass from Seahawks’ quarterback Russell Wilson to wide receiver Doug Baldwin on their very next drive. Sounds familiar, right? But be aware, the Tom Brady and the Patriots are no strangers to 4th quarter comeback themselves as Brady has made a living and a legacy in the fourth quarter.
Going scoreless in the 3rd quarter, the Patriots stop the Seahawks on a three and out and Brady leads the team down the field capping it out off with his third touchdown pass to Danny Amendola. Then, again the Seahawks fail to convert a first down on their next drive to due to a aggressive Patriots defensive secondary. The Patriots, on the arm of Mr. Perfect-Tom Brady, drive it down the field and score on a Brady touchdown pass to Julian Edelman (who played an MVP caliber game as well) to bring the Patriots ahead 28-24.
The Seahawks, being in a similar situation a couple of weeks ago to the Green Bay Packers, found themselves fighting against the clock down by 4-points. Russell Wilson and the Seahawks, who had been struggling to move the ball their last few possessions, found the silver-lining in the sky. The highlight of the night came when Wilson threw a 33 yard pass to the left sideline of the field that ended up being the second greatest catch of the year (Only behind Odell Beckham Jr. epic one hand snag) by Jermaine Kearse. On his back, ball tipped, bounces of his leg, bobbled in his hands and finally secured as a catch on the New England Patriots 5-yard line.
All seemed to be over as we knew Beast Mode (Marshawn Lynch) who led the NFL in rushing touchdowns, would finish the game with less than 30-seconds on the clock, a 1st down, and a timeout to spare. First run for Lynch gets him less than a yard shy from the endzone. A couple inches from the promise land, you say? Well, hand it to the beast again and let the good times roll, right? Not so fast! This is when things got completely confusing and the majestic feeling Seahawks fans had became a nightmare. Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll differs handing it off to, arguably, the best running back in the league (hints the name “Beast Mode”) to pass the ball! Russell Wilson throws the heartbreaking interception to Malcom Butler to seal the game for the Patriots. The golden question for the rest of the year will be, “Why did Pete Caroll decide to pass the ball less than a yard away from the endzone instead of giving the ball to Marshawn Lynch?” It seemed like the guaranteed win especially with a timeout left on 2nd down. Could it be because of the unpleasant contract situation between Lynch and the Seahawks organization that caused Lynch to hold-out during summer training camp? Messy, messy…bring out the tea! The passing game was not that pleasant all game for the coaching staff to possibly even consider throwing the ball with the game on the line as Russell only completed 12 out of 21 passes….
All-in-all, what a classic Super Bowl it was. Tom Brady was named MVP with a Super Bowl-record breaking 37 completions and breaking the great Hall Of Famer Joe Montana’s Super Bowl touchdown record (11 TDs) with 13 in his career. Brady finished with 328 yards passing for 4 touchdowns and 2 interception. Patriots’ star receiver Julian Edelman finished a great game with 9 catches for 109 yards and a touchdown. Russell Wilson finished with 12 completions, 247, 2 touchdowns and an interception. Marshawn Lynch (who is definitely going to be parting ways with the Seahawks after that bad play call) ended his run with 24 carries for 102 yards and a touchdown. Great game by both teams. Congratulations to the New England Patriots!
By the way, did anybody else witness Missy Elliott steal the show from Katy Perry…I’m going to take this tea and go now! Peace!
