Give credit where it's due.
"The guy made a great play," Wilson said.
And the receiver, Ricardo Lockette, who Bevell said, "could have done a better job staying strong on the ball."
Malcolm Butler intercepted that pass with 20 seconds left to preserve New England's 28-24 Super Bowl victory.
And this from NFL career rushing leader Emmitt Smith: "Worst play call I've seen in the history of football."
Seattle had a timeout left with the clock ticking down when Wilson fired into a cluster of blue and white shirts. Butler dug inside of Lockette and made his first career interception.
But this one was hard to explain away.
Butler went to the sideline,Cheap NFL Jerseys China.
Quarterback Russell Wilson wishes he had that pass back.
It left them speechless in Seattle, too. Well, practically.
"We've got Marshawn Lynch, one of the best running backs in the league, and everybody makes their decisions and unfortunately, we didn't give him the ball," Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner said.
Carroll's explanation: He saw the Patriots bring in a goal-line formation with eight big guys and three cornerbacks and didn't think Lynch, who tied for the league lead with 13 touchdowns rushing this season, would be able to bull it in against that defense.
"Dumbest play call in the HISTORY of NFL football," tweeted former 49ers receiver Dwight Clark, who made a pretty good grab himself: The Catch.
This game almost ended much differently for Butler. He was in coverage — good coverage — against Seahawks receiver Jermaine Kearse and appeared to bat the ball down for an incompletion. But as Kearse was falling, the ball bobbled between his legs, and he kept it in the air by batting it twice while tumbling. Kearse made the catch on his back for a 33-yard gain that gave Seattle a first-and-goal at the 5.
But there was plenty of blame to go around. It started with offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell,Wholesale NFL Jerseys China, who may have gotten too cute and, as a result, found his name was a top trender on Twitter.
"I had a feeling I was going to make a big play today," Butler said. "But not that big."
Butler saw the stacked receivers on the right side of the field and said Wilson's eyes tipped him off. He ducked inside of Lockette and made the play.
They were left to explain why they turned Marshawn Lynch — the running back known as "The Beast" — into a decoy with the game on the line and chose instead to pass the ball on second-and-goal from the 1,Cheap NFL Jerseys China.
Within moments, the second-guessing had begun on what will surely be one of the most debated calls in NFL history.
"I thought it was going to be a touchdown," Wilson said. "But I put the blame on me. I'm the one who threw it."
Turns out, he was right. But it was the Patriots holding the trophy.
"It's not a great matchup for us to run the football, so we were going to throw the ball, really to waste a play," Carroll said. "If we score,Jerseys NFL Wholesale, we do, if we don't, we'll run it in on third or fourth down."
A long shot to make the roster, though Patriots cornerback Brandon Browner said he's been proving he belongs all year. Browner, a former Seahawk, said Butler leads the team in interceptions during practice.
"I made the decision. I said, 'Throw the ball,'" coach Pete Carroll said. "Nobody to blame but me."
But about that play call again:
GLENDALE,Cheap World Cup Jerseys, Ariz. (AP) — Because they didn't go into Beast Mode, the Seattle Seahawks found themselves in Spin Mode.
He also gave lots of credit to Butler, the rookie free agent out of West Alabama who made New England's roster, then saved the Super Bowl.
Quite a moment for a player who wasn't drafted, wasn't even signed to a contract right after the draft. He was an "invited tryout" player — offered a chance to show what he could do in May.
"My teammates were saying, nine out of 10 times, that ball is incomplete," he said. "It was devastating."
A play later,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, Lynch had bulled the ball to the 1.
Seattle had a timeout and three plays to try to win the game.
"I thought it was going to be a touchdown when I threw it," Wilson said. "When I let it go, I thought it was going to be 'game over.'"
