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One of Tom Brady's seven Super Bowl titles was a bit more fortunate than the others. In 2014, the New England Patriots led the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 with less than 30 seconds left on the clock. The Seahawks opted to pass on the goal line and Russell Wilson threw a game-ending interception.
Most people place blame on Wilson and the Seahawks for not running the ball, but credit should be given to Malcolm Butler. Brady brought up this play on the Let's Go! podcast:
"I even think that when we beat Seattle in the Superbowl in the 2014 season, there was the play at the end of the game where, you know, Malcolm Butler made the interception. And, you know, when I see that play, because, you always see that play. Yeah. And right away, Chris Collins said, 'I don't understand why they don't give it to Marshawn Lynch.'"
Tom Brady never understood the idea, since he believes Butler is the reason they won, not a poor play call on their opponent's part:
"That play by Malcolm Butler was one of the great defensive plays in the history of the NFL. Watching Malcolm play, and over that whole season, his ability to make that quick, and his twitched obviously, to get to the ball to recognize the play."
Without it, the Patriots would likely have lost that Super Bowl, but then again, we will never know.
What did Tom Brady say about Malcolm Butler?
Tom Brady had more to say on the subject. He continued, heaping praise on his former teammate:
"Then the jumped around and intercept the pass, that to literally save the season, the whole season came down to one yard, you could say, oh, we should have, you know, handed the ball off, which, that's what 90% of the fans ended up taking away from that game."
Brady was frustrated with the blame given to Pete Carroll and the lack of credit for Butler:
"In my mind. I thought, God, what a disservice to Malcolm. Because there's so few corners who could have made that play, only someone with Malcolm's skill set could have had the twitchiness to decipher that route to hit it as hard as he did and then ultimately make the catch."
It is certainly one of the best defensive plays in Super Bowl history. As to whether the Seahawks would have won if they ran the ball, that will likely remain a debatable topic forever.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit the Let's Go! podcast and H/T Sportskeeda.
