Friday 30 January 2015 15:48, UK
Congratulations to the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks for advancing to Super Bowl 49, which will be played in Arizona on February 1.
I’ll get into the victorious teams who were the best two sides for much of the 2014 NFL season, but the first of my six observations has to focus on how in the world the Green Bay Packers threw away a golden opportunity to represent the NFC in this year’s Super Bowl!
That’s not the nicest of headlines, I know, but I do think it reflects the meltdown that the Green Bay Packers suffered at Seattle’s Century Link Field on Sunday night.
As much as you have to credit Seattle for never giving up, it is a clear fact that the Packers dominated this game and should be preparing for a trip to the Arizona desert this morning. But they played it too safe at times, left many missed opportunities on the field and made some head-scratching decisions that came back to bite them.
Early in the contest, Green Bay opted to kick short field goals of 18 and 19 yards rather than try to punch it into the end zone yet they still led 16-0 at the break and were cruising towards an upset win.
But then they did some really stupid things that opened the door for Seattle to win 28-22 in overtime. Some of these decisions were so bone-headed that they deserve another headline all to themselves!
There were many players and coaches who contributed to the Packers’ second-half collapse in Seattle. There will be plenty of blame to go around today as the players and team officials pack their boxes in preparation for what is sure to be a long and painful off-season.
Leading 16-0 in the second half, the Seahawks were reeling and faced a third and 19 play. Almost impossible to convert in today’s NFL, yet the Seahawks did just that because Green Bay – who had been playing very well on defence – decided to rush just three men at Russell Wilson. He had all day to pick the secondary apart and keep the drive alive.
When that drive did stall, Seattle ran a fake field goal and caught Green Bay napping. Jon Ryan threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to offensive tackle Garry Gilliam and the Seahawks were back in business.
Green Bay weathered that storm and edged into a 19-7 lead through a Mason Crosby field goal. With 5:04 remaining, I felt the Packers had hammered the final nail into Seattle’s Super Bowl coffin. Morgan Burnett intercepted Wilson at his own 39-yard line and I actually said in the studio off air: “The Packers are going to the Super Bowl.”
But with tons of green space in front of him, Burnett was scared to take a chance and slid to the ground at his own 43 when there was decent yardage to be gained. Green Bay punted a few plays later, Wilson drove Seattle downfield and scored on a one-yard run and it was game on.
That led to more baffling play from the Packers. And the events that transpired in the dying moments of a bizarre game deserve another headline of their own!
The Patriots have a motto that they adhere to at all costs: “Do your job.” Had young tight end Brandon Bostick “done his job” on Sunday night, the Packers would be competing for the Vince Lombardi Trophy on February 1.
The Patriots have a motto that they adhere to at all costs: “Do your job.” Had young tight end Brandon Bostick “done his job” on Sunday night, the Packers would be competing for the Vince Lombardi Trophy on February 1.
Seattle attempted a late onside kick and Bostick’s role was clear. Block the oncoming rushers, allowing star wide receiver Jordy Nelson the opportunity to catch the football and for Green Bay to run out the clock.
But Bostick leapt high for the football himself and saw his name in lights. Where Burnett was all caution a few moments earlier, Bostick threw caution to the wind, went for the football himself and compounded his error by dropping it on the ground for Chris Matthews, of Seattle, to recover.
The rest, as they say, is history and more Packers lined up to blow the game. Marshawn Lynch took Seattle into the lead with a 24-yard run and Luke Willson added the two-point conversion when doing so seemed impossible. Then the Packers allowed Jermaine Kearse to get deep and score the winning points in overtime.
One after the other, Packers players and coaches stepped forward to prove that the stage was too big for them on Sunday night and as quarterback Aaron Rodgers pointed out after the loss they have “nobody to blame but themselves.” This will linger long for the Packers.
Much has been made – already in this column and elsewhere – of Green Bay’s capitulation at the hands of the Seahawks but let’s now give some credit to Pete Carroll’s team in Seattle.
They never stopped believing and Russell Wilson showed tremendous courage and mental strength to overcome the worst day of his young career to date. Last year’s Super Bowl champions were on the ropes and Wilson was more than culpable in terms of taking some of the blame but he never collapsed under the weight of throwing four interceptions in the game.
Wilson played his best football in the final five minutes and then into overtime and has proven he is a worthy competitor in this upcoming Super Bowl. The Seahawks had their feathers ruffled by Green Bay, but Pete Carroll is the ultimate deliverer of positive messages and he will be telling his team that they can win every time they step on the field, even when they turn the football over five times!
The New England Patriots went back to the form book in terms of how they have beaten the Indianapolis Colts in the past year and ran all over the AFC South champions. New England romped to a 45-7 win that was never in doubt and did so by running the ball 40 times for 177 yards and three scores.
That was a stark contrast to New England’s Divisional play-off win over Baltimore the week before when they rushed for just 14 yards. This Patriots team has proven they can win any way they choose – one week they will run all over the opposition, the next they will ask Tom Brady to air it out 50 times.
I’ll talk more about Tom Brady in the build-up to the Super Bowl in Arizona, but it is clear that he is edging closer to being considered the greatest of all time. He will play in his sixth Super Bowl on February 1 and looks to be as hungry as ever.
Andrew Luck could never get it going on Sunday night but I don’t put this loss down to him. Sure, Luck would expect more of himself having completed just 12 of 33 passes for 126 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions, but the Indianapolis star did not have much help from his offensive team-mates.
And given how badly the Colts were struggling on defence, Luck was often forced to sit on the bench for 15 or 20 minutes at a time – in the pouring rain – while New England conducted another slow march down the field.
Luck could never get into a rhythm but he will have better days ahead and I remain convinced he will lead his team to a Super Bowl in the not-too-distant future. But based on Sunday’s embarrassing loss, it is clear the Colts are going to need to build a stronger and more complete team before they make that next step to the Super Bowl.
Watch New England Patriots v Seattle Seahawks live on Sky Sports 1 on February 1 from 10pm
