Super Bowl XLIX

Storyline

The 49th renewal of the AFC-NFC World Championship Game occurred at University of Phoenix Stadium between the defending league champion Seattle Seahawks and the AFC champion New England Patriots. The Patriots entered the game having lost their previous two trips to the Championship Game and had come under fire when the league announced an investigation over allegation by the Indianapolis Colts that footballs used in the AFC Championship Game had been tampered with - an allegation that led to what amounted to a public trial and acquittal of quarterback Tom Brady in subsequent months. Meanwhile the Seahawks had to overcome a slow start to their 2014 season before surging to a stunning comeback win over the heavily-favored Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game. The game became one of the most competitive league championship games ever, as the Patriots scored twice in the first half but each score was answered by a Seahawks score, leaving the game tied 14-14 after a last-second touchdown by Russell Wilson of the Seahawks. Following a lengthy halftime show headlined by singer Katy Perry, the two teams resumed the contest and the Seahawks clawed to a 24-14 lead. The Patriots, however, had erased two 14-point deficits to beat the Baltimore Ravens three weeks earlier and Brady erupted with two more touchdowns, the last coming with just over two minutes to go. But Wilson stormed the Seahawks down; Jermaine Kearse fell to the grass on a 33-yard pass and the ball was knocked into the air, but he caught it on the bounce and was downed at the Patriots 5-yard line - a shocking catch universally compared to the impossible one-handed catch by David Tyree in that same building six years earlier. A run by Seahawks star running back Marshawn Lynch - himself heavily criticized during the week for sullen and uncooperative interviews with media - brought the ball to the 1-yard line on second down; the Patriots dispatched several defensive backs to their formation - one of them a little-used rookie free agent named Malcolm Butler.........