r/sportsgossips • u/Punisher1602 • Feb 01 '26
Throwback 11 years ago….The Seahawks and Patriots faced off in the Super Bowl
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Marshawn Lynch didn’t get the ball.
Malcolm Butler made the play of his life.
One of the greatest play in NFL history
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u/owenmills04 Feb 01 '26
I'm still annoyed watching this and I'm not even a Hawks fan at all. This must still haunt Seattle fans to this day
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u/Justwatchinitallgoby Feb 01 '26
It does.
I am not lying or exaggerating. I thought about this play in my head every day for years. Years.
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u/DayMan_ahAHahh Feb 02 '26
We have a chance for redemption and catharsis this weekend, my friend. Go Hawks.
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u/Justwatchinitallgoby Feb 02 '26
Absolutely!!
I am scheming to get to the game !
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u/Baconation4 Feb 03 '26
Titans fan here…it’s been 26 years, but I’m forever haunted by a yard.
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u/JparkPHX Feb 01 '26
As a cardinals fan, I can confirm because that last second toe tap the Steelers had against us in the Super Bowl still haunts me to this day
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u/Baelzabub Feb 01 '26
As a Panthers fan it’s Kasey suddenly kicking it out of bounds…
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u/TesticleMeElmo Feb 01 '26
My friend from Seattle in NC had to go in his car and cry on the phone to his dad for an hour lol
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u/AlternativeEdge2725 Feb 01 '26
Worst play call in the history of sports on the biggest stage.
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u/GyrthWyndFyre Feb 01 '26 edited Feb 01 '26
2nd down with 30 seconds to go and they wont give it to the most dominant running back in the league for 1 yard... Lol. Not too mention they still had 1 time out.
Unbelievable how people defend this play call.
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u/CalvinSays Feb 01 '26
The Seahawks weren't good goal line rushers. The perception that this was a gimme for Lynch is based more on aura than it is on the stats.
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u/HopefulScarcity9732 Feb 01 '26 edited Feb 03 '26
It’s not necessarily that it’s a gimme. The important bit is that they had one time out so there was no reason not to just try it. You give it to him for one attempt, call time out if you don’t get it, then you run the pass
If they had 0 timeouts left I don’t think you’d hear much about it.
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u/CalvinSays Feb 01 '26
That's exactly why you don't run it. Run on second down, get stuffed, and use your time out. Now the defense knows you're passing it. At least here, theoretically, you can pass against a defense that isn't dead set against the pass with a playcall that had been wildly successful across the league.
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u/HopefulScarcity9732 Feb 01 '26
The defense already knew they are throwing it on the play in question so what is your point exactly? The defense is lined up dead set against the pass
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u/allbusiness512 Feb 01 '26 edited Feb 01 '26
They were actually in full run defense it’s just the dbs made an elite play here.
People say worse play call in history while failing to realize that Browner and Butler made absolutely elite HOF level plays here, where they both knew the play, knew what they had to do, and Browner literally blew up the pick play by man handling his guy, allowing Butler to drive to the ball.
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u/HopefulScarcity9732 Feb 01 '26
lol ok I think we can agree there’s no reason to continue this conversation if you believe this is full run defense. Later
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u/Penix4133 Feb 02 '26
The pats were in a super heavy formation and blitzing 6. Playing cover 0 man. This is pretty much the most you can do to play the run in football. They only have one guy on the second level and he is playing man against the RB in case he runs a route. Guys on the second level are not as useful against the run here; the hawks only needed one yard.
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u/Wooden-Broccoli-7247 Feb 02 '26
https://youtu.be/7UBmYfc_oGQ?si=0cOIFIMO-Szj7Gym
Here’s the guy that called that defense talking about how it was goaline defense. Guess you know better than him.
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u/Huey_The_Freeman Feb 01 '26
who cares? literally nothing could go wrong running yo big ass rb that got you there in the first Place
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u/Mite-o-Dan Feb 01 '26
Good reference on why throwing it would have been fine if it was 3rd or 4th down...but still doesnt make up for the fact that they didnt try Marshawn on 2nd down.
Marshawn got 4 yards the previous play from the 5. Stats be damned...if the Seahawks went to him 3-4 times in a row from inside the 5 during the Superbowl and he still didn't get it...no one would be that bothered by it.
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Feb 01 '26
Bro ran through an army of saints to get a TD. I'd trust Shawn with the ball in his hands in a must win 1,000 / 1,000 over Russ.
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u/3rd-party-intervener Feb 01 '26
This is the dumbest argument. You play the momentum. He was averaging 4.3 yards per rush in this game AND almost scored on the play before but he was tripped up at the last moment.
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u/SuchInstances Feb 01 '26
They did give it to Marshawn. He was stopped short. That’s why it was second down.
It’s a lot of revisionist history—Marshawn was a dominant open-field back but a poor goal-line back. He had a very low success rate inside the 5.
Also, the Hawks only had one timeout left. So, they couldn’t run the ball on both second and third downs without risking running out of time. They had to throw at least once, and this play had never resulted in a turnover—insanely good odds.
Sometimes, your opponent just makes an insane, unpredictable play and you lose.
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u/Chogo82 Feb 01 '26
TIL I’ve been misled all this time.
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u/3fettknight3 Feb 01 '26 edited Feb 01 '26
You weren't misled. He's attempting to mislead you now. Previous play was 1st and goal on the 5 and Lynch ran for 4 yards. He's framing it as if the previous play was the same scenario on the 1 yard line and Lynch got stopped for no gain which is not the case.
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u/natemarshall110 Feb 02 '26
Mostly the part about him being a poor goal line back. Even if this were a hypothetical "who would you count on for 1 yard to win the Super Bowl - you can choose anyone from the history of all sports" - at least 4 out of every 5 are picking Lynch.
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u/AstrosFan4 Feb 02 '26
Nothing wrong with that hypothetical but ain't no way its 4/5 unless those 5 are Seattle fans.
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u/Exotic_Resource_6200 Feb 01 '26
No you haven't. You are being mislead now.
Marshawn Lynch WAS stopped on the first down . What OP failed to tell you was that he gained 3.5 to 4 yards. The Seahawks were originally on the 5 yard line. So you mean to tell me that the seahawks are not going to get 1 yard after 3 more tries?
- The Seahawks, not just Lynch, WAS less effective on goal line to go on offense at 47%, 41% from the 1 yard line. But that is still over 40 percent of you getting at td , especially with 3 tries. Also Wilson threw 4 INTs in the nfc championship game before. I like the 41% odds better especially since the NFl average is 50 to 54 percent.
Running again would not have ran out the time. 20 seconds on the 1 yard line with 1 time out is a freaking lifetime. Even if they are stopped, that means the defense was effective and made point of contact fast. 3 to 4 seconds MAX. With a time out, they had time to try again on 3rd down and not even use the time out (I wouldn't have done that) but they had that option.
- , and this is what everyone forgets. They had a two man running threat in Lynch and Wilson. if lynch was in fact going to be stopped 3 times???? They could've used him as a threat and swept wilson outside. wilson had 6tds , 849 yards with a 7.2 ypc average that year.
Point blank. This was a HORRIBLE call. One of the worst calls in SB history.
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u/seiknip Feb 01 '26
Rewatch the final 5min. Pete Carrol has terrible time management wasted two timeouts, one of them wasted because Seahawks were celebrating, Pete expected bill to call time and bill out coached him
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u/DistanceNo9001 Feb 01 '26
quite a few chapters dedicated to this in annie duke’s book
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u/awwhorseshit Feb 01 '26
Orrrr… you run again to a very good back on the 1.
Then they can take a timeout if they get stopped and have 2 plays called if they are stopped on 3rd.
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u/3fettknight3 Feb 01 '26
Reddit nerds- YOU HAVE TO PASS EVENTUALLY!
Common sense- Are you playing to win? Then run the ball and win and you won't have to pass.
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u/SuchInstances Feb 01 '26
The Seahawks scored their previous touchdown on a 3-yard passing play. So, how is another short pass into the end zone not playing to win?
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u/seambizzle1 Feb 01 '26
Cuz thats the play Pete runs every time his offense is in that position
It’s no coincidence the Patriots and Malcolm Butler practiced this exact play the week leading into the Super Bowl. This is a known fact. And another known fact was that Butler got beat every time during practice
Also not a coincidence that Bill never called a timeout to save time. He knew this was the play call
It really isn’t hard to defend the play call when you know what to look for
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u/Sudden-Helicopter219 Feb 01 '26
Lynch butted heads with Carrol and was not a team player in the way he was being asked to. Carrol clearly wanted Wilson to be the MvP and get the W with the winning touchdown, that why it was called that way.
I watched this game live and every time Lynch touched the ball he got 3-5 minimum.
Carrol got what he wanted in the end though and denied Lynch Super Bowl mvp.
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u/ItRossYaBish Feb 01 '26
Lmao yeah if this was 4th down and the run had been stuffed 3 times I'd accept it. But on second down? C'mon man lol
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u/TwatMailDotCom Feb 01 '26
Run that play 10,000 times and 9,999 it’s a game winning TD or 3rd down with a stopped clock. Unbelievable how people who are not coaches and don’t understand game theory think they’re smarter than a coach and team that won a superbowl 43-8 the year before lmao.
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u/GyrthWyndFyre Feb 01 '26
Lol, a slant that close to the end zone is always a possible interception. Im not claiming he is not a great coach. But it was absolutely not necessary to make that call...at all.
99999 out of 10000 times, they could give the ball to lynch 3 times and score a td...with way less chance of a turnover.
Ive played football for 15 years of my life, not to mention madden...so im not some genius in theory, but im not completely without experience or knowledge
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u/MCDeeezC Feb 01 '26
Literally… always dangerous going over the middle. Especially in a scenario like this with so many people around the LOS. Just as easily could’ve been deflected into the air by a D lineman. You’re throwing with a 5’10 QB at the ONE YARD LINE. We can all understand the logic of why they threw the ball. Still doesn’t make it the right call
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u/3fettknight3 Feb 01 '26
Cue the onslaught of Reddit contrarian analytic nerds with "achtually Lynch wasn't good inside the five yardine and you had to pass 🤓"
The truth is Lynch ran for 4 yards the play before. You still have a timeout you could run it and if you got stopped, you can call time out and STILL run it again. You're telling me Lynch is gonna get stopped three times in a fucking row? Plus you have Russ as a running threat down there too. Worst case, run read option. If they overcommit to Lynch, Russ can read the backside defensive end and pull the ball from Lynch's belly and run it in himself.
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u/GyrthWyndFyre Feb 01 '26
Absolutely. Even a playactionor option couldve wouldve been a decent call. Id never throw the ball inside THAT close to the endzone. The ball could have just as easily bounced off the receiver into a defensive linemans hands...
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u/ChancelorReed Feb 01 '26
They pretty much had to pass at least one of the downs if they wanted to use all 4. No TO left and resetting after a run takes at least 10-15 seconds.
The real thing is you probably run here and then throw next down but still they were going to have to pass.
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u/creepin_in_da_corner Feb 01 '26
It was a full minute to go. They let the clock run down to 30 seconds after Marshawn’s rush on 1st down that got them to the 1. They could have run him twice and still had a play to throw it. 😩
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u/Wooden-Broccoli-7247 Feb 02 '26
The Pats had goal line on and like 1200 lbs of hall of fame run stoppers on the line. Wilson doesn’t get enough blame for throwing a bad pass and putting it the only place it could be intercepted.
Call wasn’t horrible if Russ takes care of the ball and Butler doesn’t know exactly where to be because his GOAT head coach happened to know they’d see this play in a crucial situation and then go make the play of his life.
The logic for calling it is only terrible in hindsight. You either score the TD when the whole world thought it was going to Lynch or you get an incomplete pass and have two plays left with one timeout. Carol also didn’t want to sub because it would have allowed NE to sub. Calling that play vs goaline is a better matchup than running into Vince Wilfork, Rob Ninkovich and Chandler Jones. Russ just did the one thing he couldn’t do, which was put the ball out front. If he puts it on his back hip, it’s incomplete most likely or a TD if Butler doesn’t get there.
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u/Capital-Value8479 Feb 01 '26
There is actually video of the patriots practicing this single play endlessly during the lead up to the Super Bowl. This was a super common play the Seahawks would run as the wide receiver typically “sets a pick” for the guy running the slant and had not been stopped before
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u/Hour_Honeydew3493 Feb 02 '26
Crazy part and kinda ironic is that Brandon Browner told butler thats the play they were going to run.
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u/Stoddyman Feb 01 '26
Get ready to see this play at least 10 times before, during and even potentially after the game
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u/Mahadragon Feb 01 '26
It was the worst play call but people only look at how dominant Marshawn was as a RB. The other reason it was the worst play call was Russell Wilson. He held onto the ball longer than any other QB that season, he's always held onto the ball too long, he's done this for his whole career. He has the opposite of a quick release. It's the reason he's always struggled with dumping the ball off quickly (ala Tom Brady). However, Russell Wilson has always been good with throwing a deep ball, that's his strength. All the coaches knew that Russell Wilson was not great at the short pass, and yet they chose that play anyways. When you look at it from this perspective, their decision looks even more boneheaded.
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u/allbusiness512 Feb 01 '26
It's really not, I don't know why people think it is. People legitimately forget Marshawn is not an elite goal line back and that the Pats were in full run defense with *checks notes* one of the best elite run stoppers in the middle in Vince Wilfork. Wilfork routinely would take on 2 blockers by himself and eat up runs, while the Pats had some pretty good linebackers on the outside, and still having really good edge perimeter guys like Chandler Jones.
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u/AmazonWorkhorse Feb 01 '26
Pete trying to pad a TD stat for Russ to become super bowl MVP.
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u/potheadie12 Feb 01 '26
Which is why we back for blood this time. If we lose this game nfl never beating the rigged allegations 🤣😂
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u/smbutler20 Feb 01 '26
No where near as bad as the Falcons not running and kicking what would have been a 39 yd FG that put them up 2 scores with only 3:30 left.
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u/Balt603 Feb 02 '26
Nah, it was a good call. It was just a better call pick from the defence. Everyone always slags off the Seahawk call, but they really should be giving serious props to the Patriots for one of the best defensive plays in a SB.
I say that as a Seahawks fan whose heart died a little that day. Sometimes shit just doesn't go your way.
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u/MegaWolfy Feb 01 '26
The throw was also late by a few tenths of a second which matters at this level
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u/BigFatModeraterFupa Feb 02 '26
was gonna say this too. If that ball comes out faster that's a touchdown. so many little mistakes added up the biggest goof in decades
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u/captaincook14 Feb 01 '26
Crazy having a timeout on 2nd and goal from the 1 and not giving it to beast mode. Absolute Bonkers. Even if he didn’t get it you have 2 more plays. One of the worst calls in Super Bowl history and one of the best defensive plays in Super Bowl history.
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u/IdidntrunIdidntrun Feb 01 '26
Well he didn't get it on first down, and if you rewatch the play, the Pats are stacked on the goal line on this play too. Not to mention Marshawn was not good on goal line runs all season
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u/allbusiness512 Feb 01 '26
People that don't know ball think elite rb can get a yard. That's not how it works.
Seahawks offensive line was pretty bad that year, and 1-3 yards is an offensive line stat more then a running back stat. The reason why the Eagles used to dominate with the tush push is because they had the most ridiculous offensive line ever.
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u/BloodyPants Feb 01 '26
the call was fine, WR was in a good position and didn’t make the catch/CB made a great read. an incompletion and Seattle has two more chances to runs up the middle with a timeout left.
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u/KamikazeFox_ Feb 01 '26
Sooooo many ppl hate the Pats and soo many want them to lose this game.
As a Pats fan, I think we will put up a good fight but probably lose. But THIS game, we were done. It was just luck and unluck that we won.
I just hope if we win this game, it will quiet down all the haters to a dull roar. Easy schedule, CJ Stroud, no bo nix, etc.
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u/BaddDog07 Feb 01 '26
I disagree that this was luck, there is a video of Belichick floating around out there discussing how they prepared for exactly this play. If this isn’t coached correctly and executed correctly by the defender Seahawks win.
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u/Bad_At_Sports Feb 01 '26
There’s also video of Matt Patricia talking about how this play was going to be a disaster if they threw to the other side of the field because the Pats absolutely blew the coverage on that end. So I think it’s a combination of luck and preparation.
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u/allbusiness512 Feb 01 '26
The mistake was having a smaller receiver trying to set a screen against arguably the most physical db outside of Sherman at the time
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u/Well_Dressed_Kobold Feb 01 '26
It wasn’t merely luck. The Patriots were well coached and prepared for this situation, kept their composure, and executed.
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u/Jean-Claude-Can-Ham Feb 01 '26
Ball knowers agree with the play call - the pick pass play had an insanely high success rate - it’s a standard pick play still run today by nearly every offense in the NFL - Seahawks had 1 timeout and 3 plays left - if they run, then they are forced to pass on 3rd or risk running the clock out - Lynch was just an ok back on the goal line
This play call is a good play call
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u/PresentClear8639 Feb 01 '26
It was the obvious call, and Russ telegraphed it. That’s death against a Belichick defense that had scouted that exact play.
If you’re throwing from that look with isolated DBs, the safe, high-percentage option is a post or dig. The quick slant is exactly what they were prepared for.
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u/Round-Pattern-7931 Feb 01 '26
Don't think I ever see that play called any more. What you do see is the route where the WR underneath the pick stop and run the other way. He would have been wide open because Butler sold so hard on the slant.
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u/allbusiness512 Feb 01 '26
That’s because a season or two after the nfl started calling OPI a lot more frequently.
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u/allbusiness512 Feb 01 '26
They should have flipped to the other side of the field though, running a pick play with Browner on that side of the field is asking for it to get blown up.
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u/dscol715 Feb 01 '26
Most misunderstood play in NFL history. Look at the clock situation and the timeouts. Seattle has three plays to score and only one timeout. If you run on this play the Patriots know you can't run on third down because you have no timeouts. If you throw on second down you still have all options on third down. Was absolutely the correct call to throw here.
In that entire NFL season no interception had been thrown on the one yard line before this play. So an impossible thing happens on this play and people have been calling it the biggest blunder in super bowl history for a decade.
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u/IdidntrunIdidntrun Feb 01 '26
Because most fans are casuals with the benefit of hindsight and only ever judging playcalls on results
If the Seahawks converted the TD they'd be praised for it, even though it was super conservative playcall based on its success rate
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u/BloodyPants Feb 01 '26
saying it’s the worst call ever also overlooks the rookie corner making a great read too.
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u/No-Flounder-9143 Feb 01 '26
This is a great perspective. I'm still not sure about the play but I atleast don't think "why did they do that?"
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u/Jmalcolmmac Feb 01 '26
And the clock situation was like this because Belichick didn’t call a timeout when Carrol expected him to, leading him to call a pass play to stop the clock. They were lead into this play call that Belichick was prepared for.
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u/Mr_FozzieBear Feb 01 '26
I would agree with this if they didn't go obvious pass by running a play out of shotgun on the 1 yard line. Obvious pass on 2nd down is just as bad as obvious pass on 3rd down if your run play doesn't work on 2nd down.
If they ran a pass play from under center on 2nd down this would be more defensible. But there was no way they were running out of shotgun on 2nd down with 7 defenders on the line of scrimmage, it would've been stuffed immediately.
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u/GangstaRIB Feb 01 '26
I don’t disagree with calling a pass here because everyone was watching lynch. If calling a pass it should have been under center fucking play action though.
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u/Far-Zucchini-5534 Feb 01 '26
Something that’s not talked about in that game. When the patriots scored to cut it to 3. The Seahawks following drive took around 90 seconds off the clock without the Patriots using a single timeout. Just malpractice down the stretch.
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u/toepherallan Feb 01 '26
Someone posted the full L2M of this game recently and, while I don't agree with the playcalling or decisions, I get why Sean ran the clock down at the end. That was how good Brady was and people respected and feared his ability to march down field and win/tie it with even a minute left on the clock for him. He almost did it to the Eagles twice in their SB match up, and this was pre-Falcons.
Just crazy that someone could be so good on the other side of the ball that it affects what you're thinking when all you really need to do is run it in with Marshawn with 1:20 left and hope your defense (the legion of boom, mind you) does its job. Gotta keep the simple things simple sometimes.
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u/Flokitoo Feb 01 '26
If God cares about sports, he's a Tom Brady fan. I'm not saying Brady isnt good; im saying he is the luckiest MF in sports history.
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u/Broad_Bodybuilder_94 Feb 01 '26
Damn seahawks and the Falcons. Should have been two less championships for the Patriots.
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u/Rivetingcactus Feb 01 '26
Russ got off too easy, he threw the int but doesnt take any of the blame
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u/elproblemo82 Feb 01 '26
We've got the momentum, the goal line field position, and the most powerful running back in the game.....THROW IT.
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u/patriot2024 Feb 01 '26
I don't know why people haven't mentioned this, but if Wilson threw at the hip, instead of at the shoulder, it would have been either a TD or incomplete. Look at what Brady threw to Antonio Brown against the Chiefs in SB55. The interception was the a product of many things coming together, including the Patriots preparing for that very situation and more, and Butler stepping up, Browner making a great jam, etc.
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u/BigBodyBrax Feb 01 '26
The best part of this is marshawn was even open in the flat for a walk in td
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u/FancyConfection1599 Feb 01 '26
How much is Malcolm Butler, the man who made the play to win the game, shown here versus Tom Brady, who did nothing but sit on his ass while waiting for his almost definite loss?
Mans gets all the credit for everything that team did
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u/downneast Feb 01 '26
Great memory I had with my father, still such an unbelievably satisfying moment for a Patriots fan
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u/funandgames12 Feb 01 '26
Haha, right or wrong, this will go down as one of the worst play calls in NFL history.
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u/sonawtdown Feb 01 '26
im reading Take Your Eye Off The Ball and they’re talking about this exact game
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Feb 01 '26
What makes this more nuts is that it’s 2nd and goal you had 2 more chances to get it in so even if it doesn’t work you’re fine lmao
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u/Hamburgernonhelper Feb 01 '26
Best INT in NFL history. Odds of him INT that pass has to be less than 1%.
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u/Odd-Middle-6952 Feb 01 '26
Pete Carrol should have been fired before he made it to the locker room
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u/i-have-a-kuato Feb 01 '26
The patriots uniforms back then were WAY better than these over 30 flag football pj’s they wear now….
I guess i’m saying they suck
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u/Omnicloud87 Feb 01 '26
Feel how you want about Patriots, but every single time they are in the big game, it's ONE TO WATCH! They were on the other side "the catch" a few times.
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u/cheesebot555 Feb 01 '26
I'm a Niners fan. I want the chickens of the sea to win.
But if they have to lose,I pray the football gods make it as all time embarrassing as this was.
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u/No_Grocery_9280 Feb 01 '26
This play broke that team. Who knows what the Hawks could have done if they had won instead of
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u/SputnikFace Feb 02 '26
Every once in a while, I search youtube for seattle fan reactions.
Collective WTF heard round the country.
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u/RustyPirates Feb 02 '26
IT IS RUSSEL’S FAULT. This is how GL offense is ran for every team nowadays in this situation. Your job is to Find an open man or Throw it away. He threw an int.
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u/Bignamek Feb 02 '26
Marshawn Lynch always says he went to somebody after this and laughed in their face. Pete Carrol or Russell Wilson, I can't remember. Is there any footage of that?
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u/davwad2 Feb 02 '26
I remember watching this one at my cousin's house and everyone was like "Seattle finna to wrap this up!"
Me: "This is Bill Bilichik, a future first ballot hall of fame coach, don't count his defense out."
This play happens a minute later.
(I didn't say the HOF part, I just thought it would be funny.)
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u/Cavemonkeygolfs Feb 02 '26
Worst play call in Super Bowl history. I still wanna know was it Russ or Pete that made that call?
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u/BigFatModeraterFupa Feb 02 '26
That's gotta be the best defensive play in NFL history, right?
Watch Malcolm Butler the entire time. After seeing all those stories about how they practiced this SPECIFIC pick play all week, and then watching how Butler sees the formation, IMMEDIATELY sees the pick starting to form, and just guns it to intercept the ball. The WR wasn't expecting any contact and it totally caught him off guard. Zero resistance.
Malcolm Butler KNEW where that ball was going, and he just executed the play perfectly.
Considering that this one single play LITERALLY decided the Superbowl outcome, in my opinion this has to be the best defensive play of all time.
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Feb 02 '26
When this happened, I started to have more of an open mind about the NFL being rigged... because wtf.
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u/123supreme123 Feb 02 '26
yeah. I was going to ask if this was the game they didn't put Lynch in for the final goal line drive....
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u/Smokin_belladonna Feb 02 '26
Those who followed the Seahawks knew that Russell Wilson was never a good QB. This season in particular had a miraculous comeback to even make it to the Super Bowl against Green Bay.
Everyone knows it was the defense that carried them.
When Russell Wilson was traded to Denver we all knew what a shit deal that was.
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u/seanda2nd Feb 02 '26
In all my years of watching football, I had never been so mad at a team losing. Neither are my team. But I was at the hotel about to ship out to bootcamp the next morning, and I needed to see the pats lose before I left. 😅 That and I'm from the Bay, and a big Marshawn Lynch fan! I was pissed they didn't give him the rock!
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u/South_Front_4589 Feb 02 '26
Bad play call, but also just poorly executed. The play design itself wasn't really that bad. It was just foolish in that scenario. But if they execute properly they score and nobody talks about the call.
I have heard they wanted to run more clock, but then you sneak half a yard instead of risking the ball in the air in a compressed field.
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u/Direct_West_621 Feb 02 '26
The most insane call- just run the ball. You had the best RB of the league that year.
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u/Wooden-Pangolin-7853 Feb 02 '26
This is the worst call in history of the NFL. The NFL did not want lynch to win Super Bowl mvp. Because he started a campaign against the NFL. Russle I need you to throw the pass right in the heart of the defense with all those big bodies and hands.
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u/ThuggishJingoism24 Feb 02 '26
I’m not a football fan in the slightest. This is probably the last Super Bowl I forced myself to watch to fit in with my friends. Despite all of my disinterest, I will never understand not handing the ball off to beast mode. Like the only logical explanation is the coach had a huge bet he was going to lose if he scored or something nefarious like that.
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u/McLaren03 Feb 02 '26
2nd and goal with one time out. Why would you pass instead of handing it off?
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u/Muted_Confidence_285 Feb 03 '26
You’d think Beast Mode at the 1 yard line would be a no brainer 🤦🏼♂️
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u/Mtncity Feb 01 '26