Patriots unseat Seahawks as Super Bowl champs

GLENDALE, Ariz. - The ads were depressing and the halftime show was bizarre.

But, oh, what a game. And, oh, what sweet redemption for the New England Patriots.

The Patriots had watched the Lombardi Trophy slip away on big plays late the last two times they were in the Super Bowl. On the verge of the wrong kind of threepeat, things finally broke New England's way.

Two plays after Jermaine Kearse had the Seattle Seahawks roaring up on the end zone with a catch that defied gravity and anatomy, rookie Malcolm Butler picked off Russell Wilson to seal the Patriots' first title in 10 years.

"To win the Super Bowl by a defensive stop, that's priceless," Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said.

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The whole game was.

Aside from the folks in Boston and Seattle, or wherever the two Super Bowl teams are from, most of us watch the Super Bowl simply hoping for a good, competitive game. Well, that and an ad or two with puppies.

While five of the previous seven Super Bowls were decided by six points or fewer, how many memorable plays can you remember? David Tyree's catch, of course. Maybe those three painful incompletions by Colin Kaepernick.

Most of the time, however, the game passes in a blur of queso dip and meatballs.

But the show on the field Sunday was the most entertaining part by far of this Super Bowl — no small thing in the annual spectacle that is part sport and many more parts circus.

The big names delivered on their advance billing. Marshawn Lynch went Beast Mode with 102 yards rushing and a touchdown. Rob Gronkowski gave all of Twitter a case of the giggles when he spiked the ball so hard after his 22-yard TD catch it left a divot in the end zone.

Cue your Deflategate joke here.

Wilson shook off what have become his trademark early struggles to set up two quick scores in the second half. And just when we thought Seattle was going to run away with it, Tom Brady reminded everyone that the old guy still has a few tricks — I mean TD passes — up his sleeves.

"I've been on the other end twice, being ahead late and not being able to make plays," Brady said. "This team was able to make plays."

Indeed, if you make up a list of all the "Did you see that?" plays in this game, you'll still be writing when the NFL draft rolls around in April.

There was Jeremy Lane's goal-line interception. There was Julian Edelman's 23-yard catch right in front of Tharold Simon. There was Chris Matthews' gorgeous 44-yard catch that set up Seattle's first touchdown.

That would be the same Chris Matthews, by the way, who came into the game with zero career catches. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

There was Gronk being Gronk. Wilson's rainbow of a pass to Ricardo Lockette for a 23-yard gain that set up Seattle's second TD — by Chris Matthews, of course.

There was Lynch breaking not one, not two, not three, but four tackles on a 14-yard rumble up the middle that set up the score that gave Seattle what seemed to be an insurmountable 24-14 lead.

And then there was Brady, who really deserves his own list.

Brady is, without question, one of the greatest quarterbacks to play the game, a certain first-ballot Hall of Famer. But his integrity, to say nothing of his legacy, has been called into question by Deflategate, with most assuming that he played a role in the footballs that mysteriously lost air pressure in the AFC Championship Game.

Brady denied it and admitted that he was hurt by the accusations. But he saved his best answer for the fourth quarter to give the Patriots the lead. On the game-winning drive, all he did was go 8-for-8, a clutch display that could be the defining moment of his career.

"There were a lot of keys to this game," Brady said. "Single any one play out, it could be different."

But it's not, and Brady joins Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw as the only quarterbacks to win four Super Bowls. His four touchdowns Sunday gave him 13 total in the NFL's biggest game, breaking the record held by Montana.

Those are records that won't soon be forgotten. Fitting for a game that won't be, either.