One Yard: Why the Seahawks Didn’t Run the Ball

    We may have just witnessed the most agonizing defeat in Super Bowl history.  The Seattle Seahawks had the ball on the goal line when they were down by four with 20 seconds left to play.  Instead of giving the ball to Marshawn Lynch for a short run, they elected to throw a quick slant in traffic to a second string receiver.  Out of nowhere came a rookie cornerback by the name of Malcolm Butler, who beat the receiver to the ball and ended their season with an interception.  Quarterback Russell Wilson made a good throw; the kid just made a better catch.  He wanted the ball more than their receiver did, and for that he is a hero. 
    It’s now being called the worst play call in Super Bowl history.  The Seahawks have taken some risks before and they've succeeded, but this time it was clearly the wrong time to take one.  Coach Pete Carroll said that Marshawn was originally supposed to run the ball, but the New England Patriots' goal line formation made them change it to a passing play.  He was originally using the receivers as bait to get the defense to send some men off the line of scrimmage, which would have made room for Lynch.  When the Patroits didn't bite, Pete called an audible for a passing play because their three receivers didn't match up against the goal line defense.  The play was broken up by Brandon Browner, who jammed up Jermaine Kearse on the goal line.  Kearse was supposed to get in the way of Butler, which would have given Lockette a free pass into the endzone. 
    The point is: who cares if the Patriots didn't bite?  You have Marshawn Lynch, a guy capable of dragging five men a whole yard by the power of his will alone.  The man is a locomotive forged from the fires of Hell.  You still have two downs left and one timeout.  If he fails, you shake the Patriots' hand and live with the results. 
    As a Seahawks fan, what stings the most is that this happened on the biggest stage in the world.  All of America was watching to see if we could defend our championship against one of the most hated teams in football.  To come up just a yard short of making history by becoming the first team in years to win back-to-back Super Bowls- much less improving our possibility of a dynasty- has put us all into a state of shock and humiliation. 
    Prior to that play, the football Gods had seemingly deemed us a team of destiny.  First we’d come back from being down by 16 with five minutes to go against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship, in what has been called by some the greatest comeback in postseason history.  Nobody thought we could win against such odds, except for our players.  Time and again they’ve shown their heart in big games, which is part of the reason why this defeat is so shocking.  Our ability to dominate teams in the fourth quarter is second to none; in fact, this may be the greatest fourth quarter team I’ve ever seen.  Russell Wilson had worked his magic against the Packers, just as our defense had completely shut them down.  In the Super Bowl he was having the game of his life, but our injury plagued defense was having its problems.  Nonetheless, we had a great chance to win after Jermaine Kearse made another improbable completion after the ball was tipped in the air and he’d fallen on his back.  That was a forty yard pass that had put us at the five yard line with a minute to go.  That’s when it seemed like the game was ours, and that some divine force was working miracles for us in order to win again.  But as it turns out, we’d only been teased by the football Gods all along, and that their help in these fourth quarter comebacks had only been set up as a joke. 
    I can’t take anything away from the Patriots; they played a great game and they deserved to win.  In fact, this was one of the most well-played games I’ve ever seen.  Very few mistakes were made and the players made big plays when they were needed.  Somebody had to lose, and unfortunately it had to be us.  But the way in which we lost is what’s so heartbreaking.  For a moment, we’d thought our last minute heroics would save us again.  It's amazing how one yard could transform the greatest of dreams into the worst of nightmares.  One yard, one game, one legacy.  But if there's one thing I know about my team it's that they always bounce back, and you can count on them being hungrier than ever next season.