For fans of the Seattle Seahawks, this is going to be a loss that stings for a long time. Super Bowl 49 could have been the game that lifted this era of Seahawk football into dynasty status but instead it is now a matter of what could have been.
If you were not one of the estimated 114.4 million people who tuned into the game from the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, you likely still know what happened. The New England Patriots came back from a ten-point deficit in the fourth quarter against the best defense in football to win the game 28-24. A win that was sealed by an interception thrown by Russell Wilson at the goal line with less than 30 seconds to go.
The reaction from Seattle fans, neutral fans, and former players has been extremely negative as would be expected. From the one-yard line with a power running back like Marshawn Lynch, why wouldn’t Seattle just use what got them there in the first place?
That is a very good question that honestly, this writer was asking as well in the immediate aftermath of the play. Upon further review though taking into consideration the other factors like timeouts and time left on the clock, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell had the right idea but he just called the wrong play.
The Final Drive
To be fair, the Seahawks put themselves into the position where they needed to make a late-game drive in need of a touchdown. The top-ranked defense in the league had allowed 14 points to Tom Brady, who just systematically picked Seattle apart. The biggest play being a 21-yard completion to Julian Edelman on 3rd and 14 with just under 11 minutes to go. Brady and the Patriots capitalized on that confidence for their two scores.
Seattle started with the ball as well as the two-minute warning and all three timeouts from their own 20 yard line. The first pass was a completion to Marshawn Lynch, who lined up at the wide out position. A beautifully thrown pass and a great route run from Lynch for a 31 yard gain to put the ball into New England territory with 1:55 to go. Seattle was 49 yards away from the end zone.
Wilson looked deep again on the second play of the drive as Jermaine Kearse ran up the seam. The ball was knocked away at the last second by Malcolm Butler on a play that could’ve put Seattle inside the 30 yard line.
A late check before 2nd and 10 from the 49 by Russell Wilson forced the team to take their first timeout. The team got to the line of scrimmage with 13 seconds left on the play clock but Wilson saw something in the defense that he attempted to point out to his offensive line. The line was still looking back at Wilson even with two seconds remaining on the play clock forcing Seattle to burn their first timeout. This timeout would be huge as we will talk about later in the piece.
On second down, Wilson would get some outstanding protection from the line as he looked for a receiver to come open. It appeared as though his primary target was Baldwin or Kearse but they were both covered. Wilson let the ball fly towards Chris Matthews on the wheel route; he was in single coverage by Brandon Browner, one of the most penalized cornerbacks in the league in regards to pass interference. Even if it was not caught, defensive PI could always be an option.
Fortunately for Wilson, the pass was incomplete though Browner had the better look at the ball from his positioning. That brought up a critical third and 10 from the 49-yard line with 1:41 remaining. Ricardo Lockette came up big with a catch and excellent field awareness for the 11-yard gain to keep the drive going.
The seconds were counting down after the completion, Wilson spread the receivers out with two to each side and Luke Willson lined up next to Russell Okung. Russell threw down the right sidelines to Jermaine Kearse who made one of the greatest catches you will ever see. He eventually caught the ball while on his back after several tips by himself. The Seahawks found themselves with a first and goal situation from the 5 yard line.
Another timeout would be called before the first down play as Seattle would get to the line of scrimmage late following the completion. Yet again, another big error leaving the team with one timeout remaining.
Seattle went back to what got them there on first down with a handoff to Lynch over the left side. He powered down to the one yard line where he was dropped just short of the end zone. The Seahawks decided to take their time and let the game clock run down to about 22 seconds before taking their next snap.
Wilson took the snap with New England showing pressure. He looked for Ricardo Lockette on an inside slant which was picked off by Malcolm Butler to seal the win for the New England Patriots.
FINAL PLAY ANALYSIS
Here is how teams were lined up at the snap of the ball. Seattle has Doug Baldwin lined up wide left, Marshawn Lynch in the backfield, Jermaine Kearse and Ricardo Lockette lined up to the right. Wilson is looking for Lockette the whole time here as he anticipates that Ninkovich is coming with pressure from the right side. This opens up a big hole in the defense at the goal line as Russell Wilson winds up to throw.
Jermaine Kearse is blocking Brandon Browner backwards to free up even more space. He could not though get a hand on Malcolm Butler though who read the play beautifully to make up the ground needed for the pick.
Despite the result, the call to pass on second down was the right idea, it was just the wrong play. Let’s look at why the idea was correct, then we will dive into what Seattle should have done.
WHY IT WAS THE RIGHT IDEA
Look at the situation surrounding the play. Seattle had only one timeout remaining with the clock moving towards twenty seconds to go. Let’s say that Marshawn Lynch takes the handoff on second down and does not score. Seattle would be forced to take that final timeout to stop the clock with probably 20 or 21 seconds remaining facing a third and goal from the one.
You cannot run on this play now because you don’t have any timeouts left. If Lynch or Wilson is stopped again then you face a hurried fourth down call with the clock running out. Basically then you would be forced to attempt a throw and New England would know that, so the likelihood of them loading up the box to stop a potential run diminishes.
Darrell Bevell and Pete Carroll have come out in the media saying that they intended to run the ball on third and a potential fourth down but unfortunately they never got the chance.
A BETTER PLAYCALL
The idea of a pass play was right but Seattle should have run a different play. The slant is a good play call but in this instance the play should have been run towards the sidelines.
If Lockette slants to the pylon and Wilson throws the ball directly at the pylon, it would a) increase the distance that Butler would need to go to make a play on the ball and b) force Butler to have to go through Lockette to make a play. The advantage tilts towards the offense and receiver. Hey, if Wilson overthrows or underthrows the ball, it is going out of bounds to stop the clock anyway.
It will be a tough off-season for the Seattle Seahawks but they are early favorites to win next year’s Super Bowl according to Las Vegas Betting. How sweet would that one be? Especially with the game taking place at Levi’s Stadium, the home of the rival San Francisco 49ers.
Images Courtesy of NFL Game Rewind / NBC