The last time the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots met in the Super Bowl, it resulted in arguably the most memorable ending in Super Bowl history with Malcolm Butler intercepting Russell Wilson at the goal line to preserve a Patriots victory.
Super Bowl XLIX went down to the wire with the Patriots holding on to a 28-24 lead in the dying seconds. Seattle got all the way to the 1 yard-line where it looked like a mere formality that they could hand the ball to star running back Marshawn Lynch for the game-winning touchdown.
However, the most infamous play call in NFL history happened. Seattle improbably called a slant route over the middle of the field. And that’s when reserve cornerback Malcolm Butler became one of the most unlikely heroes in NFL history by intercepting the pass and sealing yet another Lombardi Trophy for the Pats.
Al Michaels was on the call for NBC that night. And as he told Amazon colleagues Ryan Fitzpatrick and Andrew Whitworth on their Fitz & Whit podcast, his late-night studying of the Patriots depth chart paid off in an impossibly enormous way when he was prepared for the undrafted rookie to make the biggest play of the game.
“What I remember about that too is that Malcolm Butler was like the number six or seven defensive back coming into the game. He was not a regular. And then because Arrington got hurt or someone wasn’t playing particularly well that’s why Butler was in the game at the end. Fortunately, the night before I was ready to go but I looked at the last four or five guys on each roster just in case. Didn’t spend a lot of time but just wanted to learn a little something about them. And sure enough he makes the play and I’m able to make the right call, because if you blow that call it lives forever,” Michaels said.
And if Al Michaels was the offensive coordinator, he knows what he would have done in that situation, even though he didn’t feel like it was his place to voice it at the time.
“I always felt in my mind, why don’t you roll Wilson out to the left. It’s second down. And you got Doug Baldwin one-on-one on the outside. If nothing else, if he’s covered then Wilson can run it in. Eleven years later we’re still talking about this,” he added.
If only the Seahawks would have channeled Al Michaels and what he would have done, there is a great chance they could be going for their third Lombardi Trophy on Sunday against the Patriots.
About Matt Yoder