The Seattle Seahawks were on the precipice of claiming their spot as one of the greatest teams in NFL history. In a game where they had a nice lead but suffered some key injuries and lost the lead, Seattle had a miracle happen, and they were back in a position to win. They didn't.
Super Bowl XLIX is a rough memory for 12s. Playing Tom Brady and his New England Patriots was always going to be a tough task, but especially because cornerback Richard Sherman was basically playing with one arm after getting injured in the NFC Championship game.
Still, Seattle had a 24-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Would the Pats have been able to come back had defensive end Cliff Avril and nickelback Jeremy Lane (who had an interception early in the game) not been hurt and forced from the game? Maybe. But maybe not.
A weird decision by the Seattle Seahawks sat the team up for long-term failure
Even with the injuries and New England coming back to take a 28-24 lead with a little over two minutes left, two things happened that will forever be etched in a Seahawks fan's memory.
The first was a Russell Wilson heave toward wide receiver Jermaine Kearse. Kearse caught the pass, but only after it had been knocked around by Patriots defenders, and the ball landed on Kearse. He got up, but was almost immediately tackled. The play set Seattle up at the New England five-yard line.
Plenty of time was left for Seattle to do whatever they wanted to do offensively and have multiple plays to do so. Each play should have involved running back Marshawn Lynch. The first one did. Lynch ran the ball from the five to the one, and surely the Seahawks would give him the ball again.
Instead, something weird happened. And, well...dumb. Instead of playing things safe and likely for a sure victory, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell called a pass play that head coach Pete Carroll did not override, nor did quarterback Russell Wilson think, "Wait. What?" and call a timeout to talk things over.
Instead, Wilson dropped back and threw a dart that was intercepted by Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler, and New England held on to win. Instead of the Seattle Seahawks winning their second straight Super Bowl, the loss was the beginning of the crumbling of a potentially great dynasty.