Nine years ago, the Seattle Seahawks won their first-ever Super Bowl over Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos behind the incredible talents of Pro Bowl running back Marshawn Lynch.
The following year, they made it back to the Super Bowl and had a shot at back-to-back world championships, but they lost to the New England Patriots after Malcolm Butler intercepted a Seattle pass near the end zone.
Many have always criticized the team for throwing a pass instead of handing the ball to Lynch on the Patriots’ one-yard line.
The running back says that if it weren’t for that poor decision and the ensuing interception, he and the Seahawks could’ve ended up with a dynasty.
Former #Seahawks Marshawn Lynch opens up about not getting the ball at the goal-line of the Super Bowl: “We at the peak of our careers, with the opportunity to go head and start a dynasty, and then we fumbled the bag on the 2 yard line.” (@IAMATHLETEpod)pic.twitter.com/aWp27JBW3S
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 18, 2023
That season, Lynch put up 1,306 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns, as well as 367 yards and four touchdowns in the air.
In that Super Bowl versus Tom Brady and company, he was doing what he always did, running for 102 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries.
Seattle went ahead 24-14 late in the third quarter, and the Pacific Northwest was starting to shake in anticipation of another Vince Lombardi Trophy.
But after Brady threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks sealed their own fate with that poor play-call in the end.
Instead of them establishing the foundation for a dynasty, the Patriots became one themselves with their fourth championship of the Brady era.
Since then, Seattle has failed to make it back to the NFC Championship Game, as Lynch’s production fell off a cliff in 2015.
It’s those missed championship opportunities that forever haunt ex-athletes, even those who already possess one or more rings.
