Super Bowl XLIX was one to remember.
The big game featured the New England Patriots facing the Seattle Seahawks, the reigning Super Bowl champs, with a halftime performance by pop sensation Katy Perry.
The two weeks before the big game were filled with controversy. The New England Patriots were caught using underinflated footballs by the NFL. This may have given them a competitive advantage in the AFC Championship game.
ESPN even brought in Bill Nye the Science Guy to discuss if deflated footballs were a contributing factor to the Patriots win.
“My opinion is, whether the balls were deflated or not, the Colts were not competitive enough to have even been a factor in the game,” said sophomore defensive tackle Jaquan Austin.
The Patriots were led by quarterback Tom Brady, who ended up winning the Super Bowl’s MVP award, along with a brand new 2015 red Chevrolet Colorado.
The New England Patriots wound up beating the defending Super Bowl Champs 28–24 thanks to an unbelievable interception on the Patriots’ 1-yard line.
The game went back and forth all night long. After going scoreless through the first quarter, Brady threw his first touchdown to wide receiver Brandon LaFell on the first drive of the second quarter.
Then Marshawn Lynch tied the game up at seven all with a 3-yard touchdown run set up by a 44-yard pass from Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson to undrafted free agent Chris Matthews.
On the next possession, Brady took care of business thanks to an offsides penalty on the Seattle defense that set up a 22-yard touchdown pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski with 31 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
This was all the time the Seattle offense needed.
Wilson and the Seattle offense took the ball the length of the field and tied the game up at 14, thanks to an 11-yard touchdown pass to Matthews from Wilson.
After a terrible third quarter for New England, credited to a forced interception from Brady, the Patriots were down 24–14 with one quarter left to play. But for the Patriots, this was a common occurrence in their previous Super Bowl victories.
Brady would lead his team to down the field on two separate occasions, finally recapturing the lead with a game-winning touchdown pass to Julian Edelman from 3 yards out with 2 minutes, 2 seconds left to play.
But not so fast my friend. Seattle would be able to drive down the field, thanks to a miraculous lying-on- his-back, 33-yard catch from Wilson to Jermain Kearse, all while being covered by Malcolm Butler. This put Seattle on the Patriots’ 5-yard line.
On the next play, Lynch ran the ball to the 1-yard line.
Then, with one of the most questionable calls in all of Super Bowl history, Wilson threw a slant that was intercepted on the goal line. This sealed Tom Brady’s fourth Super Bowl win as a quarterback and the third for which he would be named MVP.
Brady went 37–50 for 328 passing yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. His 37 completions are a new Super Bowl record, along with surpassing Joe Montana as the all-time record holder for Super Bowl touchdown passes with 50 total.
Despite the “deflate-gate” controversy and a very challenging Seattle Seahawks team, Brady, head coach Bill Belichick, and the rest of the New England Patriots were able to come out on top of the NFL.
