Tom Brady and the New England Patriots ended their ten-year drought of holding the Lombardi Trophy and ended the Seattle Seahawks dream of back-to-back Super Bowl titles. Thirty-seven-year-old Tom Brady has now won his fourth Super Bowl and has been named the Super Bowl MVP for the third time. The star quarterback completed 37 of 50 passes for 328 yards and four touchdowns en route to a 28-24 comeback win over the Seahawks. In throwing for four touchdowns, Brady broke the all-time passing touchdowns in the Super Bowl record previously held by Joe Montana.
The game got off to a slow start. Neither team was able to put any points on the board in the first quarter. The Patriots managed to strike first on an 11-yard completion from Tom Brady to receiver Brandon LaFell with 9:47 remaining in the second quarter. From this point on, both offenses hit their stride. With 2:16 left in the first half, Marshawn Lynch capped off an eight-play, 70-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown plunge, tying the game at seven apiece. The ball was soon back in Brady’s hands who led the Patriots on an eight-play, 80-yard drive finished by Rob Gronkowski hauling in a 22-yard touchdown from Brady. Seattle got the ball back, down 14-7 with thirty seconds remaining in the half, but no one told Russell Wilson and the Seahawks offense that that wasn’t enough time to score. Seattle receiver Chris Mathews, an undrafted free-agent who did not have a career catch coming into the game, caught two big passes on the drive including an 11-yard touchdown with two seconds remaining in the half, tying the game at 14 all.
The third quarter was dominated by the Seahawks. Their first drive resulted in a 27-yard field goal by Steven Hauschka. Their next drive ended in a three-yard touchdown strike from Wilson to receiver Doug Baldwin. The score at the end of the third quarter was 24-14 Seattle. All signs pointed to the Seahawks repeating as Super Bowl Champions. Seattle, however, forgot to take into account the powers of future Hall of Famer Tom Brady. Brady led the Patriots on a nine-play, 68-yard touchdown drive capped off with a four-yard strike to receiver Danny Amendola. This cut Seattle’s lead to 24-21 with just under eight minutes to go in the game. The Seahawks’ next drive was stalled by the Patriot defense and Brady took over. New England went on a ten-play, 64-yard scoring drive that ended with a three-yard pass from Brady to receiver Julian Edelman. The Patriots took a 28-24 lead with two minutes to play. The Seahawks, however, responded with a drive of their own. Wilson hooked up with receiver Javon Kearse to set Seattle up with a first and goal from the eight. Then, Marshawn Lynch carried the ball to the one yard line. Instead of giving the ball to Lynch again, Seattle went to the air only to be picked off at the goal line by undrafted rookie Malcom Butler. This interception ended Seattle’s hopes of a repeat and gave Brady and the Patriots the title of Super Bowl Champions.