Former Seahawks OC Darrell Bevell defends his infamous Super Bowl play-call

Darrell Bevell on Super Bowl call

“The process was solid,” Bevell said. “And I think the play call gave us a great opportunity to be very successful.”

In a vaccuum calling a quick slant against a loaded box isn't a bad idea at all, but the details are what made this particular play a historically bad choice.

For one thing, Bevell had used that particular play so often that the Patriots defense had practiced against it for hours in the two weeks leading up to the game. Former Seahawks cornerback Brandon Browner - who was hardly known for his play recognition - instantly knew what was coming, setting up Malcom Butler's devastating INT.

Why Ricardo Lockette?

To make matters worse, Bevell's call placed the weight of deciding the most-dramatic Super Bowl ever on the shoulders of a receiver who should never have been asked to make that kind of play. Ricardo Lockette was more of a special teams contributor who had only seen 15 targets all season and ranked sixth in receiving yards on the team.

Meanwhile, Chris Matthews was in the middle of the greatest game of his career and his size certainly would have come in handy in that closely-contested end zone. Better yet, Doug Baldwin was Seattle's most sure-handed and clutch receiver and Jermaine Kearse had just made one of the most spectacular catches ever witnessed in the NFL playoffs. For that matter, tight end Luke Willson and rookie wide receiver Paul Richardson also would have been more-reliable targets in that situation.

All that being said, handing the ball off to Marshawn Lynch and hoping he could get a single yard - even against a stacked goal line formation - would probably have been a better idea than any pass play that Bevell could have come up with. The Seahawks were only on second down and would have had two more opportunities to punch the ball in if Lynch couldn't get over the top. Instead, Bevell rolled the dice and risked it all on one inadvisable pass.

According to Dugar, for his part, Lynch says the play robbed him of a chance to live out a life-long dream.

“Not only did they take a ring, a moment — they took a dream,” Lynch said. “That’s a once-in-a-lifetime situation.”

Heartbreaking doesn't even begin to cover it. At least until the Seahawks win another Super Bowl this is a sting that won't go away. Even that might not wash out the stain, though.