Welcome to Breitbart News’s Super Bowl XLIX live updates (see preview below the updates).
Tom Brady won his fourth Super Bowl ring (joins Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw) and third Super Bowl MVP trophy (ties Montana) in New England’s incredible come-from-behind 28-24 victory over Seattle. Bill Belichick joined legendary Steelers coach Chuck Noll as the only coaches with four Super Bowl rings. The game was decided on a Malcolm Butler interception at the goal line on a call that will be second-guessed forever:
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Tom Brady and the Patriots made this Super Bowl all about football, not footballs.
Clutch football, spiced by a sensational fourth-quarter rally and a goal-line, game-saving interception.
The record-setting Brady threw for four touchdowns, including a 3-yarder to Julian Edelman with 2:02 remaining Sunday night as New England rallied from a 10-point deficit to win its fourth Super Bowl in the Brady-Bill Belichick era, 28-24 over Seattle.
But the Patriots (15-4) had to survive a last-ditch drive by the Seahawks (14-5), who got to the 1, helped by a spectacular juggling catch by Jermaine Kearse. Rookie Malcolm Butler stepped in front of Ricardo Lockette and picked off Russell Wilson’s off-target pass to complete one of the wildest Super Bowl finishes.
Brady leaped for joy on the Patriots sideline after Butler’s interception.
“It wasn’t the way we drew it up,” said Brady, who won his third Super Bowl MVP award.
Brady surpassed Joe Montana’s mark of 11 Super Bowl touchdown passes with a 5-yarder to Danny Amendola to bring the Patriots within three points.
Read more of the Associated Press’s story here.
Kevin Scholla: The season is in the books. Thank you loyal Breitbart readers for joining us tonight for our live blog. Go Bears!
Kevin Scholla: Props to Robert Kraft for answering the deflated balls questions with candor.
Kevin Scholla: Jermaine Kearse is now the Endy Chavez of football.
Kevin Scholla: Congratulations to the New England Patriots. They are truly a team for the ages, led by the great Tom Brady.
Dan Lebefeld: Cornerback Malcolm Butler an undrafted rookie free agent out of University of West Alabama via Hinds Community College really stepped up. Nice free agent find for New England who helped them win the Super Bowl.
Dino Costa: Finally something good about the worst season in NFL history. A great game between two great teams. Congrats to the Patriots. Brady IS the master. Belichick perhaps the greatest coach in NFL history. I’d like to thank Dan Flynn for the opportunity to take part in this all day Breitbart Sports blog.
Kevin Scholla: Russell Wilson with the beard looks like Billy Joel on the back of the Nylon Curtain album. Fittingly his last throw was case of feeling the “Pressure.”
Patriots win a classic Super Bowl 28-24. Brady joins Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana as the only quarterbacks with four Super Bowl rings.
Dan Flynn: You mad, bro?
Daniel Freeman (@djfree): With everything that’s gone on, surprisingly, the deciding play of the game was an encroachment call.
Dan Flynn: Wow! Are you kidding me! That was the most amazing interception I have ever seen. Best. Super. Bowl. Ever. Malcolm Butler, not Richard Sherman, game’s hero.
Kevin Scholla : Bad, bad, bad, bad play call. Shocking.
Patriots’ Malcolm Butler intercepts Russell Wilson after a bizarre playcall. On the goal line, Seattle decides to pass instead of handing it off to Beast Mode.
Jermaine Kearse makes a remarkable and lucky catch in the same stadium David Tyree burned the Patriots with his legendary catch where the football seemed to stick to his helmet in a year in which controversy swirled around the Patriots. Can’t make this up.
Seattle Driving in New England territory: Pete Carroll loves passing to running backs (see: Reggie Bush at USC), and Wilson hits lynch with a pass to put Seattle in New England territory at the two-minute warning. Did you expect anything less?
Daniel Freeman (@djfree): That the SB could go either way at the two-minute warning cannot be overstated.
Dan Flynn: Does it get any better than this? Two minutes left and Seattle needs a touchdown. These are the two best teams in the NFL and they are giving us one of the best Super Bowls ever. Classic.
Kevin Scholla : Brady is runaway MVP if this holds up. If Hawks come back there are multiple options depending how they pull it off.
Kevin Scholla: Edelman likely has a concussion after the Chancellor hit. Good thing for Pats he wasn’t removed from game in today’s NFL.
Dino Costa: Same exact route Edleman ran earlier in the game where Brady missed him…this time the master didn’t miss.
Patriots 28, Seahawks 24:
New England strikes with a Brady touchdown pass to Julian Edelman. A game that has lived up to its billing. Seattle’s injuries in the secondary are catching up to them. Russell Wilson has two minutes to achieve legendary status. 2:02 left in the game.
C. Edmund Wright: Did Brady take LaFell too far outside on that pass? Coulda woulda shoulda been a touchdown.
Dan Flynn: A lot of momentum swings in this game. The Pats looked strong early. Seattle took control at the end of the first half and parlayed those gains in the second. After the Amendola touchdown and forcing a 3-and-out on Seattle, New England looks like it has what George H.W. Bush would call the Big Mo.
Dan Leberfeld: Bill Belichick said on Friday, “In America, [football] is such a part of what our lives’ are.” Very well put. What a great sport!
Kevin Scholla: New England has a great opportunity here. Good field position and loads of time. Can Seattle come up huge yet again?
Dino Costa: Russell Wilson has bounced back admirably from his horrid NFC Championship game performance…however I believe in the end the master will prevail.
Daniel Freeman (@djfree): Did the human Pac Man really only get one beer for his efforts??? Funny commercial!
Dan Flynn: Danny Amendola, Wes Welker’s replacement who was himself essentially replaced by Julian Edelman, took a while to gain Tom Brady’s trust. The 4th quarter TD reception was two years in the making. Seahawks 24-Patriots 21. It’s a game again.
Seattle 24, Patriots 21:
Don’t count out New England yet. Aided by a 15-yard personal foul penalty on Earl Thomas, Brady hits Amendola to pull New England within three. What a game!
Kevin Scholla: After Chancellor’s monster hit on Edelman it would’ve been great if trainer asked him “Do you know who the president is?”
— and his response would be “Unfortunately.”
Kevin Scholla: A big difference when Chancellor covers Gronkowski compared to a linebacker. Blanketed.
Dan Flynn: The Seattle sack of Brady shows what happens when the Patriots need to go long. The lack of sacks speaks to the Pats relying on the short passing game, which itself stands as a tacit admission that they have no answers for the Seattle pass rush.
Daniel Freeman (@djfree): Seattle rookie WR Chris Matthews only played in three games his season. He’s going to be a Gronk-like force in the coming years.
Kevin Scholla: Great decision by Wilson to eat the ball and take the sack. Smart guy. He’s a winner no matter how tall or how black some think he should or shouldn’t be.
Dan Flynn: Patriots down 24-14–they need to score on this drive. I detect a subtle change in Brady’s body language. Throwing two picks will have that effect on a man
Kevin Scholla: That stuff on third and short sums up the greatness of Seattle’s defense.
Kevin Scholla: I like the play calling. Despite being up 10, Carroll not eating the play book — going for the kill instead.
Dan Leberfeld: A company wants Sarah Silverman hawking their brand? That is surprising.
Kevin Scholla: Sarah Silverman in a commercial where the baby actually makes it. How ironic.
Kevin Scholla: Establishing Lynch is allowing Seattle to pass. Plus with the bigger lead, LOB can go for the ball more aggressively. Things are looking good right now for the defending champs.
Dan Flynn: Doug Baldwin talked to me at last year’s Super Bowl about his interest in video games. The distance between him and the nearest Patriots defender in the endzone was something you would see in a video game, not the NFL.
C. Edmund Wright: This one might be slipping away. Brady’s head is down, while Wilson is flying.
Seahawks 24, Patriots 14:
Russell Wilson hits Doug Baldwin to give Seattle a 10-point lead (a stupid celebration penalty, though, will cost Seattle 15-yards on the kickoff and put New England in good field position). The touchdown made possible because of Bobby Wagner’s interception after Michael Bennett hit Tom Brady a couple of times. Will say it again — great defenses on grass fields = kryptonite for Belichick’s Patriots.
Kevin Scholla: Chris Matthews is giving Seattle fans a tingle down their collective leg.
Dan Leberfeld: This is the best work by a Chris Matthews on NBC in a long time.
Dan Flynn: I predict an explosion of Dodge Challenger sales among centenarians.
Seahawks 17, Patriots 14:
Steven Hausheka, who missed three field goals the last time Seattle played in this stadium, puts it through the uprights to give the Seahawks a three-point lead. Chris Matthews struck again to put Seattle in field-goal range. The Patriots made a crucial third-down stop on Marhsawn Lunch to prevent Seattle from possibly going up a touchdown.
C. Edmund Wright: Elegant little offensive interference on that play.
Dan Flynn: Great 3rd down stop by New England to hold Seattle to 3. Seahawks seem to have found a solution to their early offensive problems. His name is Chris Matthews.
“Cleavagegate” avoided: Both sides win on Katy Perry cleavage bet:
In a move that was sure to get the public talking about her cleavage days after the Super Bowl, Katy Perry seemed to show just enough cleavage for bettors to cash. Or did she? There seems to be some controversy about whether she did, according to officials at the online sportsbook that offered the prop bet. The sportsbook decided to pay both sides — so everyone wins! That means bettors brave enough to have wagered $100 on whether Perry would show no cleavage won at least $400 (the moneyline closed at +400 but was higher days before).
Daniel Freeman (@djfree): Katie Perry is outrageous, as usual, but doesn’t have the intensity that Bruno Mars brought last year.
Halftime: Patriots 14, Seahawks 14
Unheralded wide receiver Chris Matthews ties the game at 14 to end the half by hauling in a touchdown reception on a risky call by riverboat gambler Pete Carroll. The score was only possible because Robert Turbin popped a 19-yard run to start the drive. Keep in mind in Russell Wilson’s rookie season, Seattle lost a divisional playoff game in Atlanta when Pete Carroll left three points on the field. So it was a risky call by Carroll indeed to go for the touchdown with six ticks left on the clock and three points in his back pocket.
New England opened the scoring on a Tom Brady touchdown pass to Brandon LaFell. Seattle answered with a Marshawn Lynch rushing touchdown. The Patriots scored what they thought would be the half’s last touchdown when Brady connected with Rob Gronkowski to give the Patriots a short-lived 14-7 lead.
Dan Leberfeld: Seahawks wide receiver Chris Matthews sending a thrill up the leg of Seattle fans with two huge plays in the first half.
Dan Flynn: That spike was “A Gronking to Remember” (https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2015/01/09/50-shades-of-gronk/)! Prior to the game, Aaron Hernandez was the last Patriot to catch a Tom Brady touchdown pass in a Super Bowl. The former New England tight end’s murder trial started this past week, but Deflate-gate has taken all of the oxygen out of the room for other Patriots scandals.
Dan Leberfeld: The more talented Chris Matthews with a huge play for Seattle. Former CFL wide receiver.
Kevin Scholla: That’s called answering like a champion.
Dino Costa: Then again this might be one of the most unheralded collective Super Bowl wide receiver casts for both teams in a long time…
Dino Costa: I’ve noted this many times on my shows previously but it bears repeating. Look at the receivers that Brady throws to compared to other receiver fleets that many other QB’sthrow to. A testament to Brady and the Patriots resourcefulness. Lafell? Edlemann? Amendola? Pro Bowl receivers…no
Tony Lee: Seattle’s lack of a true deep-threat wide receiver is hurting the Seahawks against a Patriots defense that can overplay the run right now. Since the offense is not clicking, how about putting in running back Robert Turbin, Russell Wilson’s best friend and roommate since they were drafted together, in the game for a series as a dual-threat option to see if that gets things clicking?
Dan Flynn: How about the Patriots secondary? Halfway through the 2nd quarter and Russell Wilson hasn’t completed a pass. Coverage as much as pass rush accounts for both sacks.
C. Edmund Wright: the Carolina Panther’s decision to release Brandon LaFell looks worse and worse with every Patriot game.
Kevin Scholla: Let’s not forget New England’s superb corners. Seahawks wide outs are getting no separation. That needs to change if you’re Seattle.
Dan Leberfeld: In the first quarter, Seahawks nickel back Jeremy Lane had a key interception of Patriots QB Tom Brady in the end zone.
Running after the interception, Lane hurt his wrist when tackled by Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman. He is likely done for the day.
Look for Brady to target his replacement Tharold Simon, a little tall to covers slot receivers. Simon is 6-2 with long legs, and isn’t a great matchup for short, quick inside receivers like Julian Edelman, who can change direction on a dime. Tall corners tend to have stiffer hips, and don’t change direction as well.
Edelman had a key reception on the Patriots’ first touchdown drive. Simon couldn’t stay with him on a sharp cut.
Simon was also targeted on the touchdown to Patriots wide receiver Brandon LaFell, though that is a better matchup for him because LaFell is a tall outside receiver.
But with Lane out, the Seahawks don’t seem to have a corner who matches up with Edelman.
Dino Costa: Russell Wilson & Hawks playing from behind in 2nd consecutive game…lets see how Seattle responds. New England defense has not permitted any rhythm to be established thus far for Seattle
Dan Flynn: Other than the one terrible decision, Brady has looked incredible. Their offense, as the Brandon LaFell touchdown shows, is really tough to gameplan against. Try to take away Gronk, and Edelman and Amendola step up–or in this case their forgotten outside receiver. Pick your poison. They can morph from a finesse passing team to a power running team. Their versatility, coupled with creative plays and formations, make them a nightmare for defensive coordinators.
Kevin Scholla: If Chancellor would’ve slapped Gronkowski in the head a flag would’ve come out. Everything is catered to the offense.
C. Edmund Wright: The only people happy right now are those who bet under.
Dan Leberfeld: New England has run the ball pretty well up the middle.
Keep in mind that Seattle’s best run-stuffing defensive tackle, Brandon Mebane, was put on injured reserve on November 11, with a hamstring injury.
The combo of Tony McDaniel and Kevin Williams isn’t bad, but the Seahawks aren’t the same run defense up the middle without Mebane.
Dan Flynn: The 1st quarter affirms the pick ’em line settled on by Vegas. With zero points scored, that 47-point over-under looks like it’s going under–way under.
Dino Costa: With all due respect to Carnival Cruise Lines…I did NOT come from the Sea.
Dan Flynn: Brady forced that pass picked off by Lane. Good drive to keep the Seahawks defense on the field but it’s telling that the Pats moved the ball through short passes and runs but no big plays. That may limit them if it continues.
Dino Costa: Minions? I see Hollywood has made a movie about the majority of the corporate sports media…
Daniel Freeman (@djfree): Seahawks defense…”they are who we thought they were!”
Dino Costa: Was that Tom Brady who made that pass…or Geno Smith?
Dino Costa: We’re 10 minutes into this game and its already a better Super than last year’s debacle…
Dino Costa: Perhaps I’m in the minority? NBC with Collinsworth all day long would be my last Network choice to televise this game today.
Dan Flynn: Both teams start the game conservatively. It pays off for neither.
Dino Costa: Brady showed unusual lack of pocket presence on that last 3rd down pass attempt… Brady could have bought more time and found a receiver had he slid up in the pocket for an extra 2-3 seconds.
Kevin Scholla: Of course the Super Bowl is a different animal, but just like any other game, field position and special teams will be pivotal.
Dino Costa: This is the first Super Bowl since I can remember where Alan Roach is not the public address announcer for the game.
Kevin Scholla: I’m looking forward to the hard-hitting Kam Chancellor lowering the boom. Let’s hope the officials allow tackling.
Dino Costa: Goes without saying that Tom Brady looks locked in right from the jump… Costas continues to cash paychecks covering a sport that he has referred to as “unacceptably brutal.” Walking the walk is tough for some folks, I guess.
SUPER BOWL XLIX PREVIEW:
The Seahawks are playing to win back-to-back Super Bowls in an age of extreme parity. And Seattle’s defense is vying to cement itself as one of the all-time bests if it can stifle Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in consecutive Super Bowls.
Controversy swirls around the Patriots yet again at a Super Bowl played in Arizona but it should not take away from Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s third attempt to join Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana, his boyhood idol while growing up in the Bay Area, as the only quarterbacks with four Super Bowl rings.
Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson, who was underestimated coming out of college like Brady, has a chance to become the face of the NFL with another title.
This game is truly a pick ’em and has the makings of a classic in which a low-scoring first half is followed by fireworks after halftime. Regardless of which team wins, Super Bowl XLIX will be talked about for ages because of the legacy implications for both teams.
Physical defenses on grass fields have been kryptonite to New England over the years (look what happened to the Patriots at Kansas City this year). Look for Seattle defensive lineman Michael Bennett to get in the face of Brady and do his best to make him uncomfortable. It is tough to bet on the Patriots when they play on grass against great defenses–it’s often like Peyton Manning playing outdoors (see last year’s Super Bowl). But Seattle’s defense is not healthy, which makes it equally difficult to pick them when one is uncertain how healthy Messrs. Thomas, Sherman, and Chancellor (three-fourths of the Legion of Boom secondary) really are against a quarterback that surgically shreds opposing secondaries.
Seattle’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead also revealed some of Seattle’s vulnerabilities. Seattle, playing without nose tackle Brandon Mebane and linebacker Bobby Wagner, could not stop the run in that loss. Wagner has since come back with a vengeance (Seattle’s defense clicked again when he returned), which allows K.J. Wright to move to his natural linebacking position, enabling Wright to play again on instinct. New England has probably game-planned how to neutralize Wagner, which means Wright may be the key player to watch in helping stop the run and containing New England tight end Rob Gronkowski at times. But against New England’s downhill rushing attack, Seattle will miss Mebane in this game.
New England, though, may miss linebacker Jerod Mayo as much as Seattle misses Mebane. Mayo would have caused plenty of disruption and been essential in helping contain Seattle’s read-option rushing attack. Linebackers Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower emerged as tremendous forces down the stretch, but they lack Mayo’s experience. Don’t be surprised if Seattle’s changeup running back Robert Turbin busts a few runs against a Patriot defense that Marshawn Lynch will have softened up throughout the game.
Seattle’s injuries and New England’s resurrection reminds one of the College Football Playoff national title game between Oregon and Ohio State.
Oregon lost its all-world cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu before the Rose Bowl. They lost track-star wideout Devon Allen after the first play in the Rose Bowl. Deep threat wideout Darren Carrington was suspended for the title game because he failed a drug test. Oregon’s center Hroniss Grasu, injured in an earlier game at Utah, seemed to have aggravated the injury during the Rose Bowl game and was not 100% in the title game. Athletic tight ends like Oregon’s Pharaoh Brown can exploit Ohio State’s defense. Unfortunately for the Ducks, Brown was lost for the season in the game at Utah and was not on the field when Ohio State beat Oregon.
Seattle’s injuries and deficiencies are similar. Their secondary is banged up. They don’t have deep threats (Percy Harvin and Golden Tate aren’t there this year), and possession receivers like Doug Baldwin have to stretch the defense to prevent New England from zeroing in even more on Lynch. Center Max Unger, who was injured in the Kansas City game, was hurt again in Seattle’s win over Carolina and clearly was not 100% against Green Bay in the NFC title game (see all of the errant snaps). Versatile tight ends can exploit New England’s defensive scheme up the middle just like Ohio State’s defense can be exposed. Unfortunately for Seattle, tight end Zach Miller (who would have had a homecoming of sorts in this year’s Super Bowl for the Arizona State alum) was lost for the season. Seattle tight end Luke Wilson has to be a factor in the game to keep New England’s defense more off balance (Wilson had a breakout game the last time Seattle played in this stadium against Arizona).
Meanwhile, New England seems to be peaking at just the perfect time after some early season setbacks just like Ohio State leading up to the title game.
Another reason why this game has the makings of an all-time classic is both Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick–no matter how opposite they are personality wise–are riverboat gamblers in every sense of the word. Take no punt, field goal attempt, kickoff, or fourth down for granted with these two coaches.
Two things to note: New England’s Brandon Browner used to be a Seahawk and was probably instrumental in helping with Belichick’s game plan. Browner has already gone on record to say New England should target the injured Seahawk players to see how healthy they are. In years past, especially at the height of the Spygate scandal, opposing players often felt the Patriot defenders knew exactly what play was being run (who knows, maybe they had microphones in their pads to record audible calls). Just ask the Steelers. But if New England seems a step ahead of the Seahawks in this game, it may because Browner told the coaches and players about all of Seattle’s tendencies.
Second, New England–deflated fooballs or not–flat-out blew out Indianapolis in the AFC title game. But teams that blow out opponents in the conference title game traditionally do not fare as well in the Super Bowl.
Sit back and enjoy the live updates on your second screen.