Super Bowl 2015: Bad coaching calls in final minutes define game
By Ryan Lehrman
The final minute of the game was defined by a set of bizarre calls by each head coach – but none more costly than one by Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, who opted to throw instead of run the ball on the Patriots’ one-yard line.
“Why throw the ball on the 1-yard line?” Seattle Seahawks fans, pro players and analysts are agonizingly asking after a nail-biting loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX.
The final minute of the game was defined by a set of bizarre calls by each head coach, but none more costly than the one made by Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.
“It’s my fault totally,” Carroll said in the post-game interview, referring to his decision to throw instead of run the ball in the Seahawks’ last-minute attempt to score a touchdown.
After Seattle wide receiver Jermaine Kearse reeled in a miraculous 33-yard bobbling catch while on his back, Carroll used the team’s second time out. Understandable. With less than 1:30 on the clock, Seahawks running back-slash-Beast Mode Marshawn Lynch rushed for four yards to the New England one-yard line, setting up what one would assume as an easy second-down rush for a touchdown — and the lead.
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But before the next play even unfolded, the first bizarre coaching decision, or lack thereof, came from the New England Patriots.
Hailed as the NFL’s evil genius, Pats coach Bill Belichick chose to hold onto his two timeouts and let the clock run down with under a minute left. Should the Seahawks score a touchdown, there would be no time remaining for a rebuttal.
But, they wouldn’t need that extra time, because Carroll put his faith in the passing game and lost.
Quarterback Russell Wilson threw a goal-line slant intended for wide receiver Ricardo Lockette that was intercepted by Patriots rookie corner Malcom Butler.
Carroll tried to explain himself.
“We sent in our personnel, they sent in goal-line, it’s not the right matchup for us to run the football, so on second down, we throw the ball really to kind of waste that play. If we score, we do, if don’t, then we’ll run it on third and fourth down,” Carroll said.
The Seattle hurt is compounded by the fact that Marshawn Lynch had over 102 yards rushing on the day, and proved to puncture the New England defensive line on every other play.
It will surely be a long off-season for Wilson who’ll be brooding over his wobbly pass that folded the Seahawks’ chances of winning. Throughout the game Wilson showed his finesse by delivering floaters along the sidelines.
The Patriots won 28-24, restoring the team’s dynasty title as they claimed their the fourth Super Bowl win since the turn of the century.
While a lot of hype has been made about star-studded pedigree of the two coaches, the twin under-two-minutes calls were very uncharacteristic for both teams.
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