Super Bowl 2015 Score: Final Box Score and Analysis from Patriots vs. Seahawks

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Sometimes looking at the box score in the aftermath of the Super Bowl is downright enjoyable, especially when there were so many unexpected developments and outcomes during the New England Patriots’ 28-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

Sure, superstar quarterback Tom Brady turned in yet another gem of a game on the sport’s biggest stage, and Marshawn Lynch went Beast Mode for more than 100 rushing yards, but what about unexpected heroes like Chris Matthews and Malcolm Butler?

With that in mind, here is a look at the box score for Sunday’s Super Bowl showdown.

New England Passing Attack

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

The lion’s share of the attention will be directed toward the interception Russell Wilson threw at the end of the game to Butler, but Brady—and the Patriots passing attack—deserves plenty of credit for the victory.

Brady diced up the Legion of Boom for 328 yards and four touchdowns and operated with lethal precision on the final scoring drive for the Patriots. ESPN Stats & Info described the numbers:

Granted, the Seahawks were dealing with a number of injuries in the secondary, and Brady never really challenged Richard Sherman, but the results were impressive nonetheless. Rob Gronkowski hauled in a critical touchdown early (and proved to Seattle why teams should never guard him one-on-one with a linebacker on the outside), but Julian Edelman came up huge throughout the game. 

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Beating the Seahawks' top-ranked defense through the air is no easy task, but that is exactly what the Patriots did Sunday.

Who is That?

America was introduced to Seahawks receiver Chris Matthews on Sunday in a big way. 

Matthews was a former University of Kentucky player who never caught on with anyone in the league, but Wilson called on his unheralded receiver time and again during the Super Bowl of all games, and he delivered. SportsCenter passed along a rather incredible stat when you consider the stage Matthews was playing on Sunday:

Matthews caught four deep passes throughout the game and helped set up scores with multiple grabs. In fact, he caught a touchdown with two seconds remaining in the first half that tied the game going into intermission. It gave the Seahawks plenty of momentum heading into the second half, which they parlayed into a 10-point lead in the third quarter.

While Seattle ultimately fell short at the end and somewhat negated Matthews’ performance, it will be interesting to see if he plays a larger role in an offense next season.

He checks in at 6’5” and 218 pounds and has the athleticism to win jump balls against shorter corners. He also demonstrated his speed by getting open past the defenders, which allowed Wilson to stretch the field and give Lynch some more running lanes. 

It is not difficult to envision Matthews—who didn’t have a catch in his career before the Super Bowl—turning his performance into an increased role next season.

Marshawn Lynch

Lynch topped 100 yards rushing and has to be mentioned when discussing this game, if for no other reason than the lack of a touch at the goal line at the end.

Lynch was steamrolling his way through Patriots defenders at times in the second half and appeared to wear the opposition down by that final drive, when he broke through arm tackles to get the ball to the 1-yard line with less than a minute to play. However, he didn’t get the ball after that, Wilson threw the pick and the rest is history.

To Lynch’s credit, he didn’t blame anyone after the game in his quote, via Jim Trotter of ESPN:

Still, it would have been a monumentally difficult task for the New England defense to keep Lynch out of the end zone on the final plays from the 1-yard line. Seahawks fans will certainly be thinking about that for the foreseeable future.

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