Super Bowl: What they said

“The question will haunt the Seattle Seahawks for as long as they are the Seattle Seahawks.

What were the Seahawks thinking?

What process of crazy reasoning possessed head coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell to call for a Russell Wilson pass when the Hawks were 1 yard away from scoring the touchdown that almost certainly would have beaten the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 49 on Sunday?

John McGrath

Tacoma News Tribune

“A second straight championship rested at the 1-yard line. The Seahawks needed to move the football a mere 36 inches, maybe less, to defeat improbability one last time and end this taxing season with a champagne shower. The situation called for Marshawn Lynch.

You could almost see the eccentric running back nicknamed Beast Mode diving into the end zone and doing his handshake celebration. You could almost see the blue and green confetti falling at University of Phoenix Stadium. Instead, in one moment, the Seahawks forgot who they were. And Super Bowl XLIX turned into the most painful loss in franchise history.

It happened because of the worst play call in Super Bowl history, a decision that will also go down as one of the most regrettable ever in Seattle sports. With 26 seconds remaining, Russell Wilson took a shotgun snap and threw a quick slant intended for wide receiver Ricardo Lockette. New England cornerback Malcolm Butler jumped in front of the route, however, and intercepted the pass in the end zone.

Game over. History delayed. Legacy unfulfilled.

Jerry Brewer

Seattle Times

“ They stood 3 feet away from a legacy Sunday night, the Seahawks did, but to coach Pete Carroll it must have looked like 3 miles.

They faced second-and-goal from the 1-yard line with 26 seconds left in Super Bowl XLIX and the NFL’s most powerful running back ready to do what he does, except Carroll forgot why Marshawn Lynch was here. They were one handoff from history and instead they handed the Patriots an improbable, exhilarating 28-24 victory.”

David Haugh

Chicago Tribune

“Tom Brady had an answer for this kind of pressure.

The New England Patriots quarterback might not be able to say why the footballs used in the AFC Championship Game were underinflated, but he was cool enough to overcome the Seattle Seahawks’ suffocating defense and orchestrate a comeback from a 10-point deficit while leading the Patriots to a 28-24 win in Super Bowl XLIX.”

Tom Rock, Newsday

“It seems silly, the Super Bowl measuring sticks we sometimes place on quarterbacks.

Tom Brady came very close to losing in his third straight Super Bowl appearance Sunday night and the argument, by some, would have been that he didn’t warrant mention as the greatest, especially in light of “Deflategate.”

The Patriots of Bill Belichick and Brady faced their largest deficit ever in a Super Bowl and the Seahawks, with a 24-14 lead early in the fourth quarter, looked as if they could not be beaten.

But Brady, undaunted, rallied his team, tossing two fourth-quarter touchdowns as the Patriots survived a back-and-forth affair and toppled the defending champion Seahawks, 28-24.

“It’s been a long journey,” Brady said. “It’s just a great win. We left it all on the field.”

Jeff McLane,

Philadelphia Inquirer