The final meaningful play of Super Bowl XLIX will endure as one of the most memorable of all-time. It’s the kind of play that keeps players and coaches awake at night for the rest of their lives. Malcolm Butler disrupted what should have been a second-straight Super Bowl for the Seattle Seahawks.
As Butler approached the short slant like a heat-seeking missile, the collective football fandom wondered why the Seahawks didn’t give the ball to Marshawn Lynch. The Seahawks had one yard to go with one of the best goal-line running backs in the league, but opted for an underneath route in the middle of the field.
Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell will think about that play for the rest of his life. Peter King caught up with Bevell, who has an interesting outlook on it all:
“That play we called will always be there to drive me. I wouldn’t change it, I think it was the right thing. Coach Carroll has done a great job with it as well. I think to answer your question, in terms of totally moving on, that night is rough, the next morning is rough, getting on the plane is rough, but as soon as I got here and I was able to watch it for myself on the tape and see our copy and look at it that way and do the analyzing of it, once that was over I was able to put it behind me. I’m okay. I really am.”
Bevell seems to have a healthy outlook on that catastrophe. Yes, he should have given the ball to Marshawn Lynch, but Bevell isn’t dwelling on that and he’s moving on. As for Seahawks fans, that remains to be seen.
