The Fragile Difference Between Winning And Losing

Bob George

Feb 2, 2015 at 9:02pm ET

Grady Little, you're off the hook.

Actually, Little got off the hook the year after he left Pedro Martinez in too long which wound up costing the Red Sox a pennant. The Red Sox have won three World Series since and shamed the Yankees far worse in 2004 than Little shamed the Red Sox in 2003. But for many New Englanders, it remains one of the worst manager/coach decisions they have ever seen.

Until Sunday night's Super Bowl.

Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell is right now the biggest goat in the USA. He might become to Seattle what Steve Bartman became to Chicago (can't you just see Boston mayor Martin Walsh offering Bevell asylum in Boston?). There are mistakes in sports, and then there are mistakes in sports. Bevell made one that cost his team a season, a championship, and a precious niche in the history books.

Patriot Nation, on the other hand, is giddy with joy and euphoria. The duck boats will roll on Tuesday amidst another winter storm and freezing cold. The Patriots further cemented their stunning NFL legacy, as men like Bob Kraft, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady could very well be on the Mount Rushmores of NFL owners, coaches and quarterbacks.

But let's be real and honest for just a second. Super Bowl XLIX was a game the Patriots could have, and perhaps should have, lost. After taking a 28-24 lead with 2:02 left in the contest, Seattle needed to do about ten or so things right to win their second straight Super Bowl. It turns out that they did nine things right, but the tenth thing they didn't do right cost them their season and their legacy.

This is a very telling expose on winning in the NFL. Just like the difference between the best and worst teams in the league is not that much, the difference between winning and losing is even smaller.

Here then is an abridged breakdown of the final 2:02 of Super Bowl XLIX, along with all the things that went Seattle's way, and the one that didn't.

First down and ten at the Seattle 20. Russell Wilson takes the snap and fires a left sideline pass to Marshawn Lynch, the team's battering ram running back. With Jamie Collins in near futile pursuit, Lynch takes it to the Patriot 49. One play, 31 yards. Lynch was lined up in a wideout left position and put a double move on Collins, then blew past him and made the catch. Collins should never have allowed this kind of long gainer on the first play of what had to be a lockdown drive. Two minute warning.

Three plays later. First down and ten at the New England 38. Wilson drops back and lofts a deep right sideline pass to Jermaine Kearse. Malcolm Butler was in coverage. The ball is deflected up in the air, Kearse falls down, pass appears incomplete. But the ball falls right on Kearse. Before the ball hits the ground, Kearse covers the ball and holds on to it. It was a lucky catch by Kearse, as Butler had good coverage on him. Patriot Nation was having David Tyree flashbacks. Duron Harmon was nearby and didn't quite have the presence of mind to kick the ball away from Kearse before it fell on him. NBC's Al Michaels could have said "He did what?!" again. It was an awful déjà vu for the Patriots.

First down and goal at the New England five. Wilson hands off to Lynch, who runs off left tackle. He is corralled and brought down at the one. 1:06 left in the game.

Belichick elects to let the clock run, instead of taking a timeout to preserve time in case Seattle scores. Why not call time? Would Belichick consider letting Lynch score, like in Super Bowl XLVI when the Patriots allowed Ahmad Bradshaw to score in the final minute? The clock ticked down to 25 seconds. This was really do or die for the Patriots. If Seattle scores, the game is lost for the Patriots.

Second down and goal at the New England one. Wilson, lined up in the shotgun, takes the snap and fires a quick right slant pass towards Ricardo Lockette. Butler jumps the route and makes a bang-bang interception at the goal line. He is stopped at the three. A celebration penalty on the Patriots backs the ball up to the one.

The big issue here is that Bevell opted for a pass instead of a Lynch run. Pete Carroll took the bullet for Bevell, saying that his spread offense didn't match up with the Patriots' goal line defense. Of course, one should say something like "Why in the Sam Hill was your spread offense out there instead of your power package?" One or two Lynch runs should have done the trick.

Here is what is most fascinating about the interception. Butler said after the game that he recognized Seattle's receivers in a stack formation, and knew that a pick play was coming. He knew just who to cover, where to go, and made a miracle play. In reality, "miracle" was the residue of terrific coaching, and terrific understanding and reaction by a bit player who had an otherwise nondescript season. If ever there was a masterpiece of "situational football", you saw it right there. Butler made perhaps the biggest play by a Patriot in the last ten years.

Patriot ball, first down and ten, ball at the Patriot one. 20 seconds left, Seattle has one timeout. The game is still not over. Brady cannot simply drop to a knee in a victory formation. Doing so would result in a safety, a two-point lead instead of a four-point lead, and having to punt the ball back to Seattle with a chance to win the game on a field goal. The play was tenuous. Brady had to keep the ball and lunge forward.

Instead, Michael Bennett committed a neutral zone infraction by jumping early and bumping Dan Connally. This penalty put the ball at the six and took away any chance at a calamitous moment for the Patriots. On the next snap, a fight broke out, resulting in the ejection of Bruce Irvin and putting the ball at the 21. Brady takes a victory formation kneel, and the celebration finally begins.

Seattle being the champions they are, did what they had to do to put themselves in a position to win. The decision to throw at the one was tragic. But Butler made a great play to bring the Patriots home. The decision and the interception combined provide dramatic proof of the fine line between winning and losing in the NFL. The Patriots celebrate while the Seahawks are left with feelings of agony and negative self-examination.

The Patriots now look forward to the conclusion of DeflateGate. But that will come later. Right now, it's about legacy, celebration and duck boats. Simply stated, they won.