Glendale, Ariz. – Congratulations to Super Bowl XLIX champion New England Patriots!
With all the talk of Deflate Gate and Marshawn Lynch refusing to answer the media’s questions the past couple of weeks, it was easy to forget that there was a game to be played this past weekend. None the less, one happened and it was one for the ages.
With 2:02 left on the clock, down by four points, Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks took over with a chance to win the game. After driving down the field by a handful of Wilson passes, including one of the best catches in Super Bowl history, the Seahawks were set up with a first-and-goal on the 5-yard line.
A Lynch four-yard carry brought up second-and-goal from the one. What happens next? A Wilson interception and the rest is history.
What did we learn from this? Well, I’ll tell you! Here’s my Five Takeaways From Super Bowl XLIX:
The Pats overcame the past. When incredible and historic catches occurred late in Super Bowls against New England in the past (you now what I mean Giants fans), the Pats couldn’t recover. This time around, Jermaine Kearse pulled off a catch that would make David Tyree proud, and New England didn’t falter – which surprised many. Gotta give some credit to Malcolm Butler.
What happened on second-and-goal? Look, it shouldn’t matter if the Patriots lined up in the goal line formation or not. Marshawn Lynch is in your backfield Seattle! What did Pete Carroll actually think New England would do on third and fourth down if that pass was incomplete? Line up in dime coverage?
Darrell Bevell did not make many friends Sunday night. When the Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator was asked about the second-and-goal play call he took some of responsibility for the decision, but also put some blame on wide receiver Ricardo Lockette.
“We could have done a better job staying strong on the ball,” Bevell said, according to Gregg Bell of the Tacoma News Tribune.
Those are some harsh, questioning the wide receiver’s effort in a Super Bowl.
The ads were quite disappointing. Once again the Super Bowl ads were a disappointment. At least Katy Perry’s halftime performance wasn’t, right? One of the few bright spots commercial-wise was Liam Neeson’s Clash of Clans commercial. That was awesome.
But… Deflate Gate? People are probably tired of hearing about Deflate Gate by now, but what if the Patriots are found guilty of intentionally deflating footballs and the team is reprimanded in some way? If the team loses draft picks, is fined or someone is suspended, an asterisk will certainly be placed squarely next to Super Bowl XLIX, right?
