It’s time to stop being mad at the Seahawks for throwing the ball at the 1-yard line in Super Bowl 49

At the end of Super Bowl 49, the Seattle Seahawks lost the game when they threw the ball at the 1-yard line and Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler jumped the route for a game-sealing interception. Since that day, people blab nonstop about Seattle’s “mistake,” not handing the ball to Marshawn Lynch at that moment. I’m here to set something straight. Seattle had to throw the ball. The New England’s defensive alignment didn’t leave them any other choice.

I’ve always been fascinated to see the reaction to play calling on the interweb. If it works, it was genius; if it didn’t, it was a terrible play call. There is nuance to this stuff. Yes, there are times where a play call is a genius ... the play sequencing sets up a home run, it sets up a great matchup because of the formation and so on. We can see that. There are also times when teams get lucky. They call a poor play call, but it works out anyway. Not every play call is the best one, even if it works.

And vice versa, if a play call doesn’t work, it’s not the worst decision ever. There are times where the opposite side of the ball wins a rep. My favorite offensive line coach would tell us “the defense just wins a rep sometimes.” It can happen. The best designed plays can get beaten by a defense that’s well prepared.

So where does this fit into that final offensive play for the Seahawks in their last Super Bowl appearance?

On the previous play, the Seahawks handed the ball to Lynch and he was tripped up at 1. As the clock ran down, the Patriots declined to take a timeout, but instead, ran a defensive look they hadn’t shown often. The Seahawks stayed in their 11 personnel, and the mismatch was created.

What the Patriots did was unique, another reminder of what makes Bill Belichick a remarkable coach. They went with a goal-line front with a nickel secondary. They had six, plus a man coverage player over the tight end, lined up over the offensive line, with a single linebacker in the box.

In most goal line defenses, there isn’t a third defensive back, commonly known as a nickel defender. But to match with the Seahawks’ personnel, the Patriots added an extra corner to the mix. They were in man coverage so they could blanket all the possible pass options. The corners have the wide receivers, the backers have the tight end and the running back.

For those who argue that Seahawks should have run the ball, where would you have liked them to run it? There are eight defenders in the box against six blockers, and they have leverage based on alignment against a possible inside zone from shotgun.

Here’s what Russell Wilson saw at the time. There’s nowhere to run.

(Defenders circled in yellow are in man coverage.)

Passing the ball was the best option in this situation. Against man coverage, a pick play was a sound choice.

There is a fair argument to be made that Seattle could have called a different pass play, to one of its more experienced options. However, given this pre-snap look, Wilson had to expect possible zero coverage, where everyone who’s not guarding an offensive player in a route is rushing the passer. That doesn’t leave much time for much of a route concept. This play, in theory, is a great press man coverage beater.

“Sometimes the defense just wins a rep.” That’s exactly what happens on this play, and it’s beautifully told in this YouTube clip from “Do Your Job.”

Clearly New England was prepared for the pick play, and it was executed brilliantly. If you want to get upset with the Seahawks, then you should be upset they weren’t as prepared for this situation as the Patriots were.

I’ve always said one of Belichick’s best traits is his ability to force teams into mistakes, or better yet, he eliminates terrible mistakes by his team. This is what happened here.

Alright, this felt like therapy. I needed to get all of this off my chest.