Seriously, what in the world was Pete Carroll thinking? If you’re one of the 120.8 million Americans who tuned in to the NBC Super Bowl, you’re probably asking yourself the same thing. Despite my questions, it would be an insult to that Super Bowl to focus on one coaching decision, so I won’t. This game had two legacies on the line. Could the Seahawks win their second straight Super Bowl against a Hall of Fame quarterback and solidify themselves as the greatest defense of all time? Could Tom Brady and Bill Belichick win their respective fourth rings and silence all the critics? With legacies on the line, many believed this was a matchup for the ages, and, well, this game certainly will not be forgotten soon.

Throughout the first half the Pats and ‘Hawks battled back and fourth looking to gain momentum. Tom Brady lead his offense down the field in the first quarter only to throw the worst interception of his career to date. After stopping Seattle and getting the ball back, New England promptly drove down to take an early 7-0 lead. That’s when the most unlikely of heroes, former Footlocker employee Chris Mathews, burst onto the scene in America’s biggest sporting event. The one-time irrelevant receiver made 2 huge catches for Seattle in the first 30 minutes of Super Bowl 49, and helped Seattle keep the game tied going into half despite being outplayed.

After Katy Perry shined in her halftime performance, the main event was back, and all heck broke loose. Seattle’s defense dominated the 3rd quarter. They constantly disrupted Brady’s perfect pocket, and didn’t allow New England to get anything going in the running game. Seattle took a 24-14 lead heading into the games final 15 minutes.

This is where Tom Terrific had always been so, well, terrific. In my own opinion, the last 15 minutes of Super Bowl 49 has earned Tom Brady the right to be called the greatest quarterback in the history of the National Football League. Brady picked Seattle’s defense apart in the fourth quarter with precision, clutch passing. On a 3rd down and 14 with the game on the line, Brady stepped up and delivered an absolute strike to Julian Edelman, who was able to hold on for the season saving catch, even as Kam Chancellor delivered a bruising hit.

After getting the game to 24-21 with a big touchdown pass to the small Danny Amendola, the Pats had life. After getting the back with 6 minutes, you could see in Brady’s eyes that he was going to do his job and give New England the lead. He did just that. Overcoming penalties, hitting big plays to the larger than life Rob Gronkowski, Brady led New England down to the 2 yard line with just over 2 minutes remaining in what was already unfolding as a legendary Super Bowl. On 2nd down and goal, the for-mentioned  Edelman ran the mother of all routs, juking his defender and freeing himself up in the endzone for an easy go ahead score. Pandemonium at the Super Bowl! With just 2:02 remaining in the 4th quarter, the league’s most iconic figure had given his team a 4 point lead.

This is when things turned from crazy, to absolutely and completely ridiculous. I mean seriously, Michael Bay couldn’t draw up a script like this. With just over a minute to play, Seahawks Quarterback Russel Wilson threw a bomb to Javon Kearse, which looked to be broken up by rookie Malcom Butler. On second look, the ball unexplainably bounced off of Kearse three times, before he eventually brought it in for the catch. Screams of David Tyree broke out among Pats fans. It seemed this was just 2007 all over again. Another oh-so-close attempt for Brady and Bilicheck to get their fourth ring. After Seattle ran to the one yard line, it appeared over. With 20 seconds and a timeout remaining, it seemed all they had to do was hand it off to Beast Mode and New England fans would watch their worst fears become a reality. That is when Pete Carrol made the most questionable decision possibly in Super Bowl history: he threw the ball.

As Wilson let go of the ball, it was Malcom Butler, the same rookie who had been in coverage on Javon Kears’s miracle catch, who read the play. After Brandon Browner jammed his man on the line of scrimmage, Butler broke on the route and made the most important play of the Super Bowl, and arguably the clutchest defensive play in Super Bowl history. Unbelievable. One second, it looked like Brady would see another one slip away through seemingly devine intervention. The next moment, Brady was leaping up and down celebrating his fourth ring, and becoming in my opinion, the greatest quarterback to ever play the game.