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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 2015)
Page 10 The S PORTS Portland Observer Black History Month February 4, 2015 Super Finish Shocker End zone interception dooms Seahawks (AP) -- The final 125 seconds included a perfect possession by Tom Brady for the go-ahead points, a juggling catch that could have been the play of the year, and a victory-clinching, end-zone inter- ception on a pass - not run - from the 1. A Super Bowl that got off to a slow start wound up with a "Whoa!" finish Sunday night. Brady threw two of his four touchdown passes in the final quarter to erase a double- digit deficit, Patriots rookie Malcolm Butler picked off Russell Wilson's short throw while Marshawn Lynch watched, and New England ended a decade drought without an NFL title by beating the defending champion Seattle Seahawks 28-24 in a taut classic. "It wasn't the way we drew it up," said Brady, who won his third Super Bowl MVP award. "It was a lot of mental toughness. Our team has had it all year. We never doubted each other, so that's what it took." Brady surpassed Joe Montana's mark of 11 Super Bowl touchdown passes with a 5-yarder to Danny Amendola to bring the Patriots within three points. Seattle, seeking to become the first repeat NFL champion since New England a decade ago, was outplayed for the first half, yet tied at 14. The Seahawks scored the only 10 points of the third period, but the NFL-leading defense couldn't slow the brilliant Brady when it counted most. It didn't matter how much air was Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) reacts after throwing an interception to New England Patriots strong safety Malcolm Butler during the final seconds of the NFL Super Bowl XLIX football game Sunday in Glendale, Ariz. (AP photo) in the balls, Brady was unstoppable when the pressure was strongest. While pushing aside the contro- versy over air pressure in the foot- balls stemming from the AFC title game, the Patriots toyed with Se- attle in the final 12 minutes. Seattle didn't quit - it never does - and Kearse's 33-yard catch with 1:06 remaining got it to the 5.Marshawn Lynch rushed for 4 yards, then backup cornerback But- ler, who was victimized on Kearse's reception, made the biggest play of his first NFL season with 20 sec- onds remaining. "I just had a vision that I was going to make a big play and it came true," said Butler, an undrafted rookie from West Alabama. "I'm just blessed. I can't explain it right now. It's crazy." Seahawks linebacker Bruce Irvin was ejected in the final seconds for instigating a near-brawl, delaying the celebration for the Patriots. It was a game of spurts by both teams before a crowd of 70,288 that was clearly pro-Seattle. Jeremy Lane made the first big play to negate a nearly eight-minute drive by the Patriots with a leaping interception at the goal line late in the first quarter, but left with a wrist injury after being tackled by Julian Edelman. In the second quarter, When Brady completed his record 50th postseason TD throw, 11 yards to Brandon LaFell, it was 7-0. Seattle went to its bench to help tie it. Matthews' first career catch, a reaching 44-yarder over Kyle Arrington and by far the longest first-half play for Seattle, led to Lynch's bruising 3-yard TD run to make it 7-7. But Brady to Rob Gronkowski made it 14-7 and seemed to finish off a dominant first half for the Patriots. Except no one told the resilient Seahawks. A dormant offense turned dan- gerous in a span of 29 seconds, covering 80 yards in five plays, in- cluding a late gamble. Lockette caught a 23-yard pass and Arrington was flagged for a facemask, putting Seattle at the 10 with :06 remaining. Carroll went for it and the new Seahawks star, Matthews, grabbed Wilson's pass in the left corner of the end zone. It was the most lopsided halftime tie imaginable. Then Seattle stormed to a 24-14 lead in the third quarter on Steven Hauschka's 27-yard field goal and Doug Baldwin's 3-yard TD recep- tion. New England was stumbling - until Brady once again stepped up. "I've been at it for 15 years and we've had a couple of tough losses in this game," Brady said. "This one came down to the end, and this time, we made the plays."