It has been 11 years since the opponents of Super Bowl 60 last faced off on the grandest stage of them all. With a whole new cast of characters leading the way for both teams this year, it makes the previous bitterness of Seattle and the celebrations of New England virtually meaningless to the players, but the game is still etched deep in hearts and minds of both fanbases.
Here is a recap of what happened the last time these two teams clashed in the Super Bowl.
Both teams had a quick punt before the ball returned to Tom Brady’s hand. The veteran was slinging the ball around, accompanied by a steady rushing attack from LeGarrette Blount. New England found themselves in the red zone with the first quarter nearing an end.
On 3rd and 6, Brady danced in the pocket before firing a pass into the end zone. There was not a white Patriot jersey in sight and the pass was picked off by Jeremy Lane. The first interception of Lane’s career came with a cost. The sixth-round pick exited the game with a cast on his wrist, but not before he made his impact for the Legion of Boom.
A Julian Edelman 23-yard scamper put the Pats back in the red zone. Two plays later, Brady faked a handoff to Blount and zipped an 11-yard touchdown pass to Brandon LaFell, putting the Patriots up 7-0 early in the second quarter.
Russell Wilson and the Seahawks would not go quietly into the night. Seattle got inside the 20 with a Wilson bomb to Chris Matthews, who the world was introduced to in the biggest game of the season. Moments later, Wilson handed it off to Marshawn Lynch and Beastmode did the rest.
The game was tied and the fireworks were just beginning as Brady and company got the ball back.
Brady orchestrated a beautiful eight play 80-yard drive capped off by a 22-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski, putting the Patriots up 14-7 with just 31 seconds remaining in the first half.
What followed was one of the greatest drives in the history of football.
Expecting Seattle to run the clock down, the Patriots let their guard down as backup running back Robert Turpin broke off a 19-yard run, leading the Seahawks to call their first timeout. Wilson then broke a tackle on a run-pass option and the Seahawks were already past midfield. On the next play, Wilson hit Ricardo Lockette for a big gain which was even bigger when the referees tacked on extra yardage with a facemask call.
With only six seconds left in the half, head coach Pete Carroll made one of his many controversial decisions in the Super Bowl. Wilson took the snap with the time ticking and found Matthews in the corner of the endzone with two seconds remaining in the half.
Both teams had their ups and downs, but the score was tied after 30 minutes.
After Katy Perry rode an animatronic lion at halftime, it was back to football for the two squads.
Another bomb from Wilson to Matthews put the undrafted receiver at 100 yards on the day and immediately set up Seattle to start the third quarter. In a decision you would never see today, Carroll decided to kick a field goal on 4th and 1 from inside the 10-yard line. The Seahawks went up three early in the second half.
Trying to respond, Brady fired one over the middle looking for Gronkowski. The pass was intercepted by Bobby Wagner and Seattle got the ball back.
Capitalizing off the turnover, Wilson found a wide-open Doug Baldwin in the endzone to make the lead double-digits for Seattle.
It was do or die for New England, who had lost their past two Super Bowls in heartbreaking fashion.
Despite a few quick punts, the Patriots’ defense made some big stops and the Pats were inside the 5-yard line once again. On second and goal, Brady hit Danny Amendola in the back of the endzone to cut the deficit to a field goal halfway through the final quarter.
A quick three and out for Seattle and it was Brady time once again. The quarterback picked apart the defense in a 10 play 64-yard drive culminating in an Edelman touchdown on a beautiful route that the quarterback and wide receiver could not connect on the previous drive.
Wilson trotted out onto the field with 2:02 remaining. Little did he know, it would be a drive that would live in infamy.
Sitting around midfield, Wilson dropped back and floated a pass intended for Jermaine Kearse. The pass was initially batted in the air by rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler, however it miraculously ended up in the hands of Kearse. Butler shoved him out of bounds, but the Seahawks were inside the 5-yard line with less than a minute to play.
The ghosts of the Patriots’ past seemed to be rearing their ugly heads as their Super Bowl hopes were dwindling.
The play was obvious, right? Just hand the ball to Lynch who went over 100 rushing yards on 1st and goal. On that very play, Beastmode was tripped up by Dont’a Hightower at the 1-yard line in one of the most underrated plays in Super Bowl history.
The next play is something that has been and will be talked about forever. In a defensive masterclass, the Patriots staff sent in Butler on a play they had been scouting for all week. Wilson took the snap with 25 seconds left and fired a pass toward Lockette. Butler jumped in front of the pass, and the rest was history.
The Patriots claimed their fourth Super Bowl Championship while the Seahawks core crumbled following injuries and the controversial play call. New England would win two more Super Bowls in the 2010s, while Seattle finds themselves in the big game for the first time since the ball left Wilson’s hand.
Will the Patriots find the same magic that they did 11 years ago? Or will the Seahawks slay their past demons en route to their second Super Bowl ever?