"Earlier in his life, he didn't have the easiest childhood," Hall said. ![]() Nothing about his story, though, is instant or easy.īutler grew up in Vicksburg with no advantages. He's just one of those people."įor the public, Butler's interception turned him into an overnight sensation. "Every day he wakes up, every time he runs into somebody, he makes their day better. "The first thing I want to say is he's a tremendous young man with a tremendous attitude," said Will Hall, Butler's coach at West Alabama. Sunday night, Butler sealed the Patriots' 28-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks with an interception at the goal line with 20 seconds remaining, both the deciding play of a classic Super Bowl and the culmination of Butler's self-made ascension. And the Patriots deserve even more credit than they get for rewriting a decade of history on the fly.Butler had completed an inconceivable path from batter cook to Division II standout to undrafted rookie to Super Bowl hero. One dynasty began anew that night in Glendale, and inexplicably, it wasn’t Seattle’s. Every bit of momentum they exerted and reputational intrigue they possessed for the past five seasons came, in part, because they were able to snatch Seattle’s chain at the clearest pivot point, perhaps, in NFL history. They also forgot how to place their quarterback in a position of strength in the resulting big games, always appearing in the postseason as middling-to-great contenders, but never possessing enough firepower on both sides of the ball to ensure dominance.Īnd the Patriots? Well, they finished the decade the way they’d started the previous one: as undisputed playoff gods, and the most trusted NFL team in a big spot. The ‘Hawks failed to draft and develop offensive line help. And after that, Seattle’s defense was never quite as strong. Instead, Brian Flores barked out, “Go Malcolm!” and New England displayed the fruits of their intensive practice labor, snuffing out a Pete Carroll malfunction before it ever happened. ![]() It’s difficult to conceive of now, but the Patriots had become another footnote in Seattle’s story, with just a minute left in that contest. Pete Carroll talked yesterday about what he learned from two of the toughest times of his career - his 3-year stint with the Patriots, and the Super Bowl loss on the Malcolm Butler interception - Ben Volin September 17, 2020 New England had solved that unit, coming back from 10 points down, but it now wouldn’t matter. Seattle’s stout and hard-hitting defense echoed the Patriots’ early core of Bruschi, Vrabel and McGinest. The Patriots were yesterday’s news, about to complete 10 years without a ring to cap their dominance, felled once again by the devil’s bounce. In that moment, with Kearse on the ground, realizing his bounty, and being forced out of bounds at the very last second, the Seattle Seahawks were the dynasty. Though Tom Brady’s Patriots were known as a dynasty because of their three titles in four years at the start of his career, the carnage that followed included a ridiculous streak of AFC East titles (save for Matt Cassell’s unfortunate cameo) and an absurd sequence of bad bounces and breaks on the biggest stage.Īnd seconds prior to Malcolm Butler’s appearance, a sullen Pats sideline had been burdened by another one: the juggling, sprawling, nearly-ignored Jermaine Kearse catch. Recall, at the time, that the Patriots were widely regarded as snake-bitten. Story: Six years later, wild Super Bowl XLIX finish still felt by Patriots, Seahawks. It’s not only possible, but relatively likely, that this singular pick was the most impactful play in NFL history. One well-placed Malcolm Butler later, and the Pats were on the warpath to extending their dynastic expiration date another several years. It was the night that a Pats dynasty was reborn, and marked the abrupt end of a Seahawks’ bid to usurp New England as the kings of an entire decade of football. ![]() 2015 turned out not to be just an iconic moment in Patriots history. There would be no, “We’re still here!”, but only, “We were there.” ![]() There would be no over-the-shoulder Gronk catch, no Gilmore-Goff pick in the end zone. Without a Patriots win in Super Bowl XLIX, there would be no 28-3. The New England Patriots changed every moment of the last six years of NFL history when they defeated the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX.
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