Super Bowl XLIX was, in a word, stunning. The entire game was highly entertaining and worthy of the Super Bowl spectacle.
But these five plays stood out as the defining moments.
1. Something pretty important happened at the end, right?
The decision to do anything other than put the ball in Marshawn Lynch’s gut to win the Super Bowl was awful. It’s been dubbed the worst play call in the history of football, and humanity. I won’t take it quite that far, but when the Seattle Seahawks opted for a quick throw in traffic amid many bodies instead of powering ahead with Lynch, they abandoned their core identity when it was time to win a championship.
But Russell Wilson compounded the play-calling mistake with poor execution. As called, the play demanded an immediate throw to Ricardo Lockette, one he could catch directly after breaking on his slant toward the end zone. Lockette needed an opportunity to catch the call first and then barrel his way forward.
Instead Wilson’s throw drifted far out front, giving Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler a chance to be the hero.
2. Jermaine Kearse’s David Tyree moment
Well, almost. The football gods above work in wicked ways, and a different outcome would have put Jermaine Kearse’s tumbling, juggling catch alongside the greatest miraculous receptions in Super Bowl history.
But a ridiculous catch in a loss doesn’t come with nearly as many legacy points.
Still, this happened…
3. Chris Matthews’ first career catch
About a year ago at this time Chris Matthews was working two jobs: one at Foot Locker, and the other as a security guard. His new job as a standout Super Bowl wide receiver nearly led to an MVP award.
Had the Seahawks managed to gain that one lousy yard, Matthews may have been named the Super Bowl MVP. He finished with 109 receiving yards on only four receptions, with much of that yardage coming in large chunks (two 40-plus yard catches).
But the most memorable was both his first catch of the game, and of his NFL career.
Late in the second quarter Seattle trailed by a touchdown. The towering Matthews (he’s 6’5”) was lined up in single coverage on the outside opposite Patriots cornerback Kyle Arrington. He ran a nine route, and Wilson’s throw was poor.
Matthews was forced to stop, adjust his footing and twist his body in the air as he fell backward, all while fighting off quality coverage from Arrington. The result: A spectacular sprawling catch that set up Seattle’s first touchdown three plays later.
4. Gronk one-on-one with a linebacker ends badly
The Seahawks were never going to stop Rob Gronkowski, because no defense stops Rob Gronkowski. He’s far too massive, and his oversized body moves far too fast.
But when they countered with the also large Kam Chancellor there was hope Seattle could at least sufficiently slow Gronkowski. And for the most part they did with the exception of two critical blows.
One was a 20-yard reception on New England’s final drive to help set up the eventual game-winning touchdown. The other came much earlier when we were reminded yet again that sticking a linebacker on Gronkowski when he’s split wide ends horribly.
That was the expected outcome whenever a linebacker was isolated on Gronkowski Sunday. Especially K.J. Wright, who gave up a passer rating of 120.9 in coverage throughout the regular season, according to Pro Football Focus. So in the second quarter when the Patriots lined up just shy of the red zone and Wright was across from Gronkowski all alone to the outside, what came next felt inevitable: a 22-yard touchdown as Wright trailed, then flailed.
5. Shane Vereen’s one-handed catch
This play may get overlooked amid all the other insanity that happened in the final minutes, and just overall the absurdity sprinkled throughout the entire game.
On the first play of New England’s game-winning drive Tom Brady uncorked one of his few wayward balls of the second half. He targeted running back Shane Vereen up the middle, and his throw sailed wide. The ball could have easily bounced off Vereen’s outstretched hands and into enemy possession, altering history.
Vereen only needed one hand to avert that disaster.
Lost in the Super Bowl ending: Just how amazing was that Shane Vereen one-handed catch? (HT @_MarcusD_) pic.twitter.com/FPsnsVFWIW
— Avinash Kunnath (@avinashkunnath) February 4, 2015
