Patriots vs. Seahawks: Final Score, Top Storylines and More from Super Bowl 2015

Quietly, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady outsmarted the Seattle Seahawks.

One popular line of thought suggested the Patriots would attempt to match Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch on the ground blow for blow with LeGarrette Blount, the hero of the AFC Championship Game.

Not so.

Instead, the 28-24 triumph came about as Brady relentlessly spammed his way to 50 pass attempts, most of them short. With the Seattle corners forced to the line of scrimmage and the pass rush nullified, when Brady did go over the top, it hurt the Seahawks.

Badly.

With the confetti hardly swept up off the turf of University of Phoenix Stadium, now is the time to examine some early takeaways from Sunday night's instant classic.

2015 Super Bowl Box Score

	1	2	3	4	Final
NE	0	14	0	14	28
SEA	0	14	10	0	24

Top Storylines and Takeaways

Time to Re-Evaluate Wide Receivers?

Matt York/Associated Press

This point would be a bit more prominent if Seattle had pulled out the victory, but a certain play call ruined things a bit.

This is not to suggest that wide receivers will go the way of the dinosaur as running backs did. However, the NFL's biggest stage on Sunday served as a proving ground for Seahawks wideout Chris Matthews.

Who?

Matthews, an undrafted free agent who made the trip to Glendale, Arizona, caught four passes for 109 yards and a touchdown, including an epic moment only overshadowed by late-game oddities, as the NFL's Twitter account captures:

Jason Wilde of ESPN Wisconsin really put it best, as Matthews came dangerously close to hauling in the MVP award:

Heck, the Patriots often hear negativity about not giving Brady enough weapons.

Try that argument now after wide receiver Julian Edelman caught nine passes for 109 yards and a score. Fellow pass-catchers Danny Amendola (five catches for 48 yards and a score) and Brandon LaFell (four catches for 29 yards and a score) also made solid contributions.

Brady's committee approach and the fact that a guy whose first career touchdown catch came in the Super Bowl combine to really place the value of wideouts in question.

Maybe, just maybe, investing the big dollars in wideouts is not all it's cracked up to be.

The Call

David Goldman/Associated Press

Poor Pete Carroll.

The man correctly makes adjustments on the fly to involve Matthews and give his team a spark. He gambles in a big way on Matthews' touchdown to keep his team in it before halftime. The adjustments at the break worked until the final frame.

Yet all anyone will remember about his performance is the decision to throw a slant to wideout Ricardo Lockette on the Patriots' 1-yard-line rather than run it up the middle with Lynch.

Folks know the result. Cornerback Malcolm Butler made the play of the game with an explosive jump on the ball, the interception inciting a brawl with the game decided.

The postgame reactions were expansive but common in their negativity, as samplings from Emmitt Smith, Deion Sanders and NFL.com's Bucky Brooks show:

To his credit, Carroll handled the matter in the best way possible.

"I told those guys, 'That's my fault, totally'" Carroll said, per NFL.com's Nick Shook. "But we had plenty of time to win the game ... we were playing for third and fourth down, give them no time left ... but didn't work out that way."

Truthfully, had Butler not made a miracle play, the conversation around the game would be quite different now.

Instead, Carroll is the scapegoat, as he should be. The ramifications of the call this offseason, at the very least from a team-chemistry standpoint, will be something to monitor.

Dynasty and 'Best Ever' Talk 

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

The Patriots sat on the verge of giving way to a new dynasty.

Instead, they extended their own.

Brady was magical in the process. The two interceptions were ugly. Viewers had an obvious line of sight to them, but for one reason or another, they were invisible to Brady.

Down 14 points entering the final quarter, though, Brady reached a form that was rare even for him. He found Amendola for a score, then Edelman for the go-ahead connection.

The 37-of-50 mark for 328 yards, four scores and two picks earned him MVP. As noted by The Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com), that completion total breaks a record that belonged to Denver Broncos signal-caller Peyton Manning. He extended his record for most career postseason touchdown passes.

The best-ever talk is warranted:

New England is undoubtedly a dynasty. Brady's ability to stay away from Seattle's strength, avoid and remain calm under pressure, navigate a messy pocket and be cerebral enough to strike when the time is most opportune cannot be understated.

Brady's numbers are staggering. He owns the postseason. Three MVP awards and four Lombardi Trophies deep at the age of 37, Sunday's performance would be the perfect sendoff.

Knowing Brady, that won't be the case.

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com. Advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus.