After a two week lay-off from respective championship series, University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale was at the center of the world for the long-awaited New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks meeting. While New England looked to maintain their integrity amidst the deflate-gate scandal and Marshawn Lynch being the targeted subject of media scrutiny for keeping his mouth shut, we were finally granted Super Bowl XLIX.
The opening quarter saw mostly back-and-fourth action, with mainly three-and-outs. That similar style of play continued in the second quarter; with New England striking first on a 7-yard pass from Tom Brady to Brandon LaFell to take a 7-0 lead. Seattle didn’t fold at the time, immediately answering back with a Marshawn Lycn 3-yard run to cap off a 70-yard drive. Tom Brady soon returned the favor with a lengthy drive of his own – this time for 80 yards to complete a touchdown pass to his go-to-guy Rob Gronkowski. Now down 14-7 with the ball back at halftime, the Seahawks wouldn’t end the second quarter down by any points, as Russell Wilson would cap off another 80-yard drive in less than 30 seconds to tie the game with a 11-yard pass to Chris Matthews.
With halftime approaching, Katy Perry was up next to bring her collection hits to the stage and some calmness to a tense environment of 70,000-plus fans. After the 40-minute intermission concluded, both teams took the field for a night neither would ever forget. On the Seattle opening drive for the half, they were limited to just a FG to take their first lead of the game at 17-14; and would add-onto the score a few drives later on a Doug Baldwin touchdown pass. New England would remain scoreless in the third quarter, but would have a scoring surge in the final quarter. Down by double digits, Tom Brady would have to rally his team to complete their up and down season; including talks of even benching him during after a nearly under .500 start.
At the 8-minute mark, New England would strike first with a short pass to Danny Amendola to bring them within a FG – with time nearing an end. After forcing a punt from their opponents, the Patriots would score a touchdown from the game’s real MVP, Julian Edelman, to take a 28-24 lead. With only two-minutes left, the game was left in the hands of Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll to complete a possible back-to-back championship victory.
Unfortunately, the two didn’t go to what was helping them stay in the game, which was the run game of Marshawn Lunch. This became evident when the team decided to throw on a third-and-goal, in comparison to allowing Beast Mode finish what he started. Rookie safety, Malcolm Butler would soon have the biggest play of the decade for the team, intercepting Wilson in the red zone to shock the stadium, their opponents and fans in attendance.
With all of the Seattle air sucked out of the stadium, Brady finally exhaled a huge sigh of relief, to win his fourth overall Super Bowl and third MVP Award. New England finally returns to prominences at the expense of a scandal they’re currently enduring; but the real story overshadowing their big victory, is Seattle essentially giving away this game in crunch time. While the team is expected to face significant free agent departures, highlighted by Marshawn Lynch, they now start their off-season this Monday morning for plans in the immediate future.
Aaron Rodgers Wins 2014 NFL Most Valuable Player
GIFS courtesy of TheBigLead.
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