The Worst Call Ever?

The New England Patriots will attend a parade in their honor on Wednesday morning through the snow-covered streets of Boston. They’ll wave to the crowd and celebrate the NFL championship they won on Sunday in Super Bowl XLIX.

It will be just another drab day in the Pacific Northwest for the Seattle Seahawks, 28-24 losers to the Patriots. A yard away from being back-to-back Super Bowl winners, they’re instead consigned to an unenviable niche in NFL annals – victims of their own decision-making in what is now cataloged as “the worst call in Super Bowl history.”

Fast summary (as if you didn’t know): The Seahawks employ a running back named Marshawn Lynch, whose fierce running style is known as Beast Mode. He has scored 48 touchdowns in four full seasons with the Seahawks and led the NFL in rushing touchdowns the last two years. So, at the Patriots 1-yard line with 26 seconds left, did the Seahawks give Lynch the ball to score the winning touchdown?

No. They threw a quick pass into the middle of the field that was intercepted. An almost certain victory had become an ignominious defeat. The defending Super Bowl champions did not defend. They’d become, in fact, the subject of ridicule.

This will be hard to live down for head coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. They can explain their rationale but it will never wash. They’ll be known as the dunces who gave away a title. Here’s a small sample of what people are saying and what they will continue to say.

Seattle Times: “The worst play call in Super Bowl history.”

The New York Post: “Easily the worst call in the 49-year history of the game.”

NFL Network analyst and Hall of Famer Deion Sanders: “The worst play call in Super Bowl history.”

Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith: “The worst call I’ve seen in the history of football.”

One step from repeating and sending the Patriots to a third straight Super Bowl loss, the Seahawks suffered, in the estimation of Sports Illustrated, “a truly horrendous brain cramp at the absolute worst time.”

For everything the Seahawks did, for everything they will do, they’ll always be known for “the worst play” in the biggest game at the least opportune time.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .