Bevell explains the how and the why of the Seahawks’ final play

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Of all the problems with Seattle’s final offensive play, accountability wasn’t one of them.

Head coach Pete Carroll said it was his call to throw the ball on second down. Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said it was his play, though.

“Coach Carroll, he can tell me to do something different,” Bevell said. “We communicate, we talk, but I make all the play calls.”

The decision to throw the ball came after Seattle substituted in three receivers while the Patriots had their goal-line defense in. At that point, the decision was made to throw the ball, a play that wouldn’t be stopped in the field of play. It was either going to be a touchdown or an incompletion, at which point Seattle would have two more plays and a timeout with less than 30 seconds remaining.

“We were real conscious of the time,” Bevell said. “We were real conscious of making sure we didn’t leave very much time for them as well, but we wanted to make sure we got all our opportunities.”

Instead, cornerback Malcolm Butler exploded on the pass, driving through Ricardo Lockette to intercept it.

“He made a great play,” Bevell said. “He really did. Our guy’s got to go hard to the ball as well. He drove hard. He made a great play.”

It was one of two times Bevell mentioned the need for his receiver to be strong to the ball.

Bevell was asked if – in hindsight – he would have called something else.

“If I know the guy is going to pick it off, I’m going to do something different,” Bevell said. “I don’t think that’s a great question.”

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