Bizarre Super Bowl Finish Erases Champion Effort from Seahawks' Russell Wilson

On Sunday, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson became the first signal-caller in NFL history to start two Super Bowls in his first three seasons.

If not for one of the worst play calls in championship history, there is a good chance he would have become the first quarterback to win two Super Bowls in his first three seasons.

In a back-and-forth game that saw Wilson and legendary New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady trade punches, the former third-round pick did quite a few incredible things of his own.

Wilson wasn't especially efficient (12-of-21), but he extended plays, made a number of big-time throws, racked up 286 combined yards (247 passing, 39 rushing) and tossed a pair of touchdowns.

More important, he found ways to respond virtually every time the Patriots began to gain momentum.

His ability to respond isn't a new trait, of course.

Former NFL coach Tony Dungy said the following of Wilson this past season, per NBC Sports (via Yahoo Sports):

"

[Wilson]'s saying 'If I need to win the game, I can win it.' And he reminds me, if you want to go back a generation, he reminds me of Joe Montana right now. If you want to go back two generations, Roger Staubach. Just guys who, when that moment is there, when their team needs it, they make the play. And I just think Russell Wilson, right now, is the best player on that Seattle team.

"

Recently, Wilson has responded in very Montana-like ways.

Two weeks ago against the Green Bay Packers, Wilson overcame early struggles, four interceptions and a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to snatch an overtime victory and get to the Super Bowl in the first place.

When the Patriots scored with 31 seconds remaining in the first half Sunday, Wilson drove the Seahawks down the field for a touchdown and a tied ballgame at halftime. He completed passes of 17, 23 and 11 yards on the drive.

When New England scored to take a four-point lead with two minutes and two seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Wilson drove the Seattle offense to the Patriots' 1-yard line in just over a minute-and-a-half. 

He completed passes of 31, 11 and 33 yards on that drive. He was aided by a ridiculous rebound catch by Jermaine Kearse and a couple of Patriots penalties, but the bottom line is that the Seahawks had a 2nd-and-goal with 26 seconds remaining and a prime opportunity to take the lead.

It is hard for a team to want more from its quarterback.

Then came that disastrous play call.

Instead of running the ball three times with Marshawn Lynch (who was averaging 4.2 yards per carry), Seattle called an inside pass play. Wilson threw, cornerback Malcolm Butler intercepted the ball and the Patriots took over with nothing left to do but run out the clock.

Coach Pete Carroll defended the play call after game saying, courtesy of Terry Blount of ESPN.com:

"

We were going to run the ball in to win the game, but not on that play. I didn't want to waste a run play on their goal-line guys. It was a clear thought, but it didn't work out right. The guy [Butler] made a play that no one would have thought he could make.

"

If the ball had sailed a few inches behind wide receiver Ricardo Lockette instead of out front, the pass likely would have been fallen incomplete—leaving two more chances to cross the goal line.

Of course, we all know about the cliches regarding inches. They're often the difference between winning and losing, and they're a big part of why we aren't talking about Wilson's second Lombardi Trophy or his gritty, gutty championship performance.

Wilson has all of the tools to one day hold a place in NFL lore like the one Brady continues to build. He sees the field exceptionally well, he can drop a dime in a bucket from half a field away and he is incredibly slippery behind the line of scrimmage.

Just ask the numerous Patriots left grasping at air just before Wilson made a play on Sunday.

That he accomplished everything he has with a limited receiving corps is even more remarkable.

Super Bowl receivers like Kearse, Lockette and Doug Baldwin all went undrafted. Seattle's offensive star in the big game was Chris Matthews (109 yards and a touchdown), a former CFL player who made his first NFL reception on Sunday.

A little over a month ago, I called Wilson the biggest snub of the Pro Bowl selection process. The fact that Wilson is a less than conventional quarterback and plays on a team with an elite defense and running back prevents him from being considered one of the game's elite by most observers.

A second Super Bowl may help change the general process. Thanks to one awful decision, however, Wilson's spirited postseason run will largely be forgotten.