As the Seahawks inched toward the inevitable late in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIX, a familiar feeling of agony crept into the hearts of Patriots fans across the country.

They’d been there before: Tom Brady drives for a fourth-quarter lead, the defense gives up a miracle catch and the Patriots are on the wrong side of the scoreboard as confetti rains. But a different, distant history would repeat itself: that of the improbable New England win.

A day later, the Patriots’ unlikely triumph is being broadly painted as a fluke; a stroke of pure luck at best and at worst an outright gift from Pete Carroll. These Patriots — who never once quit despite a 10-point deficit against the best defense in modern football — the narrative goes, owe their fourth Lombardi trophy solely to the worst play-call in Super Bowl history.


Nonsense.

There was no luck in Tom Brady’s playing the role of, well, vintage Tom Brady. Four passing touchdowns against the Legion of Boom, so named for its ferocity against the pass. A Super Bowl-record 37 completed passes, out of 50, good for a completion percentage of 74. Sure, he had his gaffes — most notably a first-quarter interception that took certain points off the board. But he also had his moments of brilliance, like this perfectly placed touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski.

Nor was there anything lucky about the the gutsy show put on by one Julian Edelman, he of the 109 yards and a touchdown spread across nine catches that included what may have been the game-saving play. Ditto Danny Amendola, who acquitted himself as an offensive asset this postseason after 18 months of questions. And Shane Vereen’s 11 catches for 64 yards should get the impending free agent paid.

But the haters’ argument centers not on what was done by the Patriots, but what wasn’t by Seattle. Namely, a hand-off to Marshawn Lynch on the 1-yard line that would have, of course, unequivocally, beyond a shadow of a doubt resulted in the go-ahead touchdown, because no back — especially Lynch — ever fails to convert such short yardage.


Instead, undrafted free agent Malcolm Butler jumped Ricardo Lockette’s end zone slant, intercepting Russell Wilson and all-but icing the Patriots’ first Super Bowl win in a decade. Per the haters, it was a ball that should never have been thrown in a million years. And yet, it wasn’t a poor call at all.

I will freely admit I called for Bill Belichick to allow a quick score as the clock ticked into double digits. A score here was almost inevitable, I figured; why waste those precious 60 remaining seconds when they’d so soon be needed?

Of course, as is everything, it was calculated. Here, many coaches would zig — in this case, call a timeout and preserve time for a game-tying field goal drive. Belichick instead zagged, letting the Seahawks run out the clock so their best player would only have at most two shots at the end zone. With one timeout, 30 seconds and a four-point deficit, one stuffed run could well have spelled defeat for the Seahawks.

Post-game, Pete Carroll defended the decision to pass, saying his team’s three-wide set was a poor match for the Patriots’ goal-line unit. And while it’s been poo-pooed as his falling on the sword, it’s also the truth: even Lynch would have struggled with so few blockers. Thus, the decision was thether to burn the timeout and sub, or throw a pass.

Was it a great decision by Wilson? No, and in truth, most any other pass would have been better. But it was an easy mistake to make, and Lockette would have been open had Butler not burst through a well-set pick in the end zone. Wilson has been heralded as the Next Big Thing and rightly so, but even the best quarterback makes mistakes (see Brady, Tom).


And can we dispense with the notion Marshawn Lynch was a lock to score should he get the ball? Lynch converted just one of five attempts at the 1-yard line this season, twice losing yardage; and he’s just 15 of 36 for his career. Even against a pliable Patriots run defense, he was no sure thing.

Such criticisms are exhausting for a team and a fanbase that has for the last two weeks weathered accusations of cheating, and probably will for years to come. Worse, this silliness discredits the heroics of Butler, the latest in a seemingly endless stream of unheralded players to come up big for the Patriots in the biggest moments.

So let’s call Super Bowl XLIX what it was: a great game, played by the two best teams in the NFL. And a Patriots win, every inch of it earned.