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Pats sink Seahawks for NFL title
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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 interception on a pass — not run — from the 1.
A Super Bowl that got off to a slow start wound up with a “Whoa!” finish, a lot like the New England Patriots’ entire season.
Brady threw two of his four touchdown passes in the final quarter to erase a double-digit deficit, rookie Malcolm Butler picked off Russell Wilson’s short throw while Marshawn Lynch watched, and the Patriots ended a decade drought without a National Football League title by beating the defending champions Seattle Seahawks 28-24 in a taut classic in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday night.
“Every team has a journey,” said Brady, who was voted Super Bowl MVP for a record-tying third time, “and a lot of people lost faith in us early. But we held strong.”
He was talking about the preceding months, not minutes. But either made sense. After all, back in late September, when New England lost 14-41 at the Kansas City Chiefs to fall to 2-2, there was a lot of talk about whether Brady was done, whether the Patriots were simply no longer a powerhouse.
Yet on Sunday night, when coach Bill Belichick was asked when he knew he had a special team, he pointed to halftime of that poor performance against the Chiefs. “We weren’t having a good day, but we kept fighting,” he said. “To me, if there was ever a time that we were not going to compete as hard, that would have been it. That was a key point in our season.”
Deflated footballs
And so perhaps these Patriots were prepared to weather the scrutiny that came with an NFL investigation into whether they deliberately deflated footballs in the AFC championship game two weeks ago.
Perhaps they were prepared to set aside Brady’s two interceptions that helped dig a 14-24 hole in the fourth quarter. They moved into the lead after Brady connected with Danny Amendola from 4 yards out for one score with about 8 minutes left, then hit Julian Edelman from 3 yards for another TD with 2:02 remaining.
Perhaps they were prepared to not let the game get away when Seahawks receiver Jermaine Kearse made a falling, juggling, bouncing reception on his back for a 33-yard gain that set up first-and-goal from the 5 with 66 seconds to go. It was Butler who was in coverage on that play, although there was nothing more he really could have done.
Perhaps they were prepared for a shotgun pass by Wilson two plays later from the 1, rather than a run by the barrel-chested Lynch, who tied for the league lead in touchdown runs this season with 13.
Butler sure was ready, and his pick sealed the ultimate outcome, even if everyone had to wait while the officials cleared up a field-wide brawl.
Lynch gained 102 yards on 24 carries and scored an earlier TD, leaving many mystified as to why Seattle wouldn’t have handed off to him in that vital situation.
The Patriots (15-4) won the fourth Lombardi Trophy of the Brady-Belichick partnership, adding to those from the Super Bowls played in 2002, ‘04 and ‘05. They lost their last two trips to the big game, though, in 2008 and 2012, both times against the New York Giants.
This time, though, Brady and New England pulled it out — and in the process, prevented Seattle (14-5) from the ninth set of back-to-back Super Bowls.
At age 37, Brady went 37 for 50 for 328 yards and matched his childhood idol, Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Montana, for most Super Bowl MVP awards.
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