New England Patriots rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler found himself in the spotlight after his game-sealing interception in Super Bowl XLIX. He’s hoping for more.
A week ago, Malcolm Butler was an almost unknown undrafted rookie defensive back for the New England Patriots.
Now, he’s a Super Bowl hero, the guy who sealed the conjoined legacies of head coach Bill Belichick and franchise quarterback Tom Brady with a game-saving interception in the end zone in the final 30 seconds of Super Bowl XLIX last Sunday.
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Undrafted out of West Alabama last year, Butler is hoping there’s going to be more to his career than just a shining moment in one game.
“I’m going to probably enjoy this moment, I’ll never forget it,” Butler said via Comcast Sports Net New England. “Probably for a couple more days or whatever, however it dies down. Have a little time to relax and then get back to work and just try to prove my point that this one play doesn’t [define] me. I don’t want to be known as a great player for one play, so I’ve got more to prove.
“So, I’ll have a little relax time and get back to work.”
The track record of unknowns who emerged as Super Bowl heroes doesn’t bode well for Butler.
Jim O’Brien was a 23-year-old kicker who had made just 55.9 percent of his kicks (19-for-34) for the Baltimore Colts during the 1970 season. But his 32-yard boot with five seconds left in Super Bowl V lifted the Colts to a 16-13 win over the Dallas Cowboys.
O’Brien’s career lasted three more years, two with the Colts and one with the Detroit Lions. He was out of the NFL after the 1973 season at age 27.
Timmy Smith rocked the Denver Broncos for a Super Bowl-record 204 rushing yards in Super Bowl XXII, helping the Washington Redskins to their second Super Bowl title. Expected to be the star back for Washington in 1988, he flopped because of injury and ineffectiveness. He gained 476 yards in the rest of his career and was out of the NFL by 1990 at the age of 26.
David Tyree made the catch of a lifetime in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLII for the New York Giants against New England, pinning an Eli Manning pass against his helmet with safety Marvin Harrison draped all over him for a 32-yard gain. The Giants would score on that drive and upset the previously undefeated Patriots.
It was the last catch of Tyree’s six-year NFL career, one of just 58 he made in 91 career regular-season and playoff games.
Or for the most recent example—Super Bowl XLVIII Most Valuable Player Malcolm Smith of the Seattle Seahawks didn’t play a single snap on defense in last Sunday’s game.
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