Wednesday 25 January 2017 12:20, UK
New England Patriots beat Seattle Seahawks to win their fourth NFL championship in an evenly-matched and entertaining Super Bowl 49.
The AFC champions beat the NFC champions 28-24 at University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona, in a game that concluded with a strange call and a mass brawl on a temperate February evening.
It was clear from kick-off that this Super Bowl was going to be tough to predict. A first-quarter deadlock was broken early in the second by a trio of 10-yard+ passes by New England quarterback Tom Brady, connecting with Danny Amendola, Julian Edelman and Brandon LaFell for the first touchdown.
Seattle's quarterback Russell Wilson and running back Marshawn Lynch combined to claw seven points back with a touchdown with 2:16 left of the first half.
The quarterbacks went on to deliver a pulsating end to the second quarter as the Pats regained the lead with a 22-yard pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski, 31 seconds from time. They would surrender it in dramatic fashion 29 seconds later.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, who was seeking to retain the Super Bowl title, passed up a field goal opportunity to go for the end zone with six seconds on the clock.
On instruction, Wilson linked up with wide receiver Chris Matthews with an 11-yard touchdown pass, sending the teams in for the break, tied at 14-14 as Katy Perry and Lenny Kravitz prepared for the half-time show.
Defensive end Cliff Avril departed early in the second half following a concussion, but it didn't slow Seattle, who notched a 27-yard field goal, followed by a Doug Baldwin touchdown.
A 24-14 lead looked good for the championship going into the fourth, since no team had ever overcome a 10-point deficit in the final quarter to win a Super Bowl.
However, it was Brady and co. who refused to follow the script, scoring twice more to take a 28-24 lead, leaving just two minutes on the clock.
Seattle drove forward with two first downs and kept the play alive as wide receiver Jermaine Kearse tipped and then caught a 33-yard pass on his back.
Malcolm Butler, a then-rookie cornerback for the Pats, prevented the touchdown by reacting to push Kearse out of bounds, which was to be the first of his pair of game-saving acts in the dying moments.
The 'Hawks charged to the one-yard line on the next play and ran the clock down to 26 seconds with the end zone - and the Super Bowl - in sight.
Then, in one of the sport's most controversial coaching decisions, Carroll opted for the pass, over a running play that he had successfully utilised at the end of the second quarter.
The title was there for the taking, but the offence couldn't convert as Butler read the move, intercepting Wilson's pass and denying a second championship in a row for the Seahawks.
The clock ran down as Brady took a knee to seal a hat-trick of Super Bowl MVPs for himself and a first NFL title in a decade for the Pats.
Pete Carroll's call remains one of the most talked-about in NFL history, whilst 39-year-old Brady remains one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.
You can follow the road to Super Bowl 51 with Sky Sports here and on Twitter at @SkySportsNFL.
