The Patriots met the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX, with a drama-filled ending as Tom Brady won his fourth Super Bowl, 28-24. Malcolm Butler, an undrafted rookie, made the crucial play, intercepting Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson in the game’s deciding moment. Predictably, it was a highlight filled Super Bowl, with each of the best teams in the NFL matching each other for much of the contest. After largely outplaying Seattle through much of the first half, New England was still unable to create any separation. That said, the same was largely true in the second half, except reversed. It proved to equal-out to create an epic Super Bowl finish, which seems fitting given that’s all that Tom Brady knows.
At the outset, the Patriots appeared composed (certainly more so than the Broncos had in the previous year’s Super Bowl). Still, New England was unable to do much on offense, with Tom Brady compounding the issue by committing a red zone turnover with an interception to Jeremy Lane. Defensively, Seattle was kept in check through their first three drives, punting on each occasion.
New England took the game’s first lead, with a precise pass from Brady finding Brandon LaFell in the second quarter, but they were unable to extend the lead, with Seattle (through a crucial reception from unheralded receiver Chris Matthews) trying the score, 7-7. The second portion of the drama came right at the end of the second quarter, with Rob Gronkowski’s touchdown again cancelled out by a matching Seahawks score (to Matthews, with only two seconds remaining in the first half).
The Patriots appeared to be on the ropes early in the third quarter, when the Seahawks scored twice in a row (courtesy of Brady’s second interception of the game) to take a 24-14 lead. But New England, inspired by a huge Rob Ninkovich sack and a Julian Edelman third down catch, would not go away. After those two big plays, Danny Amendola caught a clutch touchdown to make it 24-21, Seattle.
Another huge Patriots defensive stop got the ball back to Brady in the fourth quarter, who promptly drove down the field to give New England the lead, 28-24 (Edelman with the scoring catch).
And on the game’s final drive, the Patriots defense made a play at the one yard line, with Butler picking off Wilson to secure the fourth Super Bowl win in Patriots history. Here are the game’s highlights:
Marshawn Lynch started the game with a tradition, eating some Skittles:
Vince Wilfork made an early play, running over his blocker to make a third down stop on Lynch:
Tom Brady made the game’s first major mistake, throwing the second red zone interception in his six Super Bowls:
Still, Brady stayed aggressive and it paid off. New England scored first, through Brandon “JoJo” LaFell:
Chandler Jones got an early sack on Russell Wilson:
As usual, an unforeseen star was made on the Super Bowl’s stage. Chris Matthews, the 6’5″ receiver, hauled in a big catch to get the Seahawks offense going:
Marshawn Lynch tied the game, rumbling in from close range to make it 7-7 in the second quarter:
Rob Gronkowski got the Patriots back in the lead, 14-7, making a nice touchdown catch with less than a minute to go in the half:
And a Super Bowl edition Gronk-spike:
The Seahawks went for it right at the end of the first half, and made the Patriots pay, scoring with two seconds remaining in the half. After two quarters, it was tied, 14-14:
Um, halftime happened:
Brady got off to a terrible start in the second half, throwing an interception to linebacker Bobby Wagner:
Doug Baldwin created a pick with the referee to shirk the coverage of Darrelle Revis, making it 24-14 Seahawks:
The Patriots got a third down stop from rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler, but were unable to move the ball, giving it back to Seattle down by 10 points. Still, Butler was clearly playing well in place of a subbed-out Kyle Arrington (not-so-subtle foreshadowing).
Again, the defense came to New England’s rescue. Rob Ninkovich got a huge sack on third down to give Brady and the offense yet another chance:
On an enormous 3rd and 14, Julian Edelman converted, taking a massive hit from Kam Chancellor in the process:
And Danny Amendola caught the biggest touchdown grab of his career, cutting the deficit to 24-21 in the fourth quarter:
Edelman caught what proved to be the game-winner, making it 28-24:
On the game’s deciding play, the Patriots defense finally made a play after multiple Super Bowls were they were unable to get a crucial fourth down stop:
