Many Seattle Seahawks Questioned Pete Carroll's Decision to Pass From the 1

Facing 2nd and goal from the 1-yard line with less than a minute left in the Super Bowl, Seattle opted to pass instead of plowing ahead with powerful running back Marshawn Lynch. To that point in the game, Lynch had rushed 24 times for 102 yards, and on the play prior, he gashed the Patriots for four yards. With timeouts in their pocket and plenty of time on the clock, running the ball made the most sense.

What happened next will probably will go down as the most bizarre decisions in the history of the Super Bowl: Russell Wilson dropped back to pass. Unknown Patriots defense back Malcolm Butler made an incredible play, intercepted the pass, and New England captured its 4th Super Bowl in the Bill Belichick era.

After the game, more than a few Seahawks – including Bruce Irvin above – openly questioned their head coach’s decision:

Bobby Wagner: “We got @MoneyLynch, one of the best RBs... And everybody makes their decisions. Unfortunately, we didn’t give him the ball."
— Sean Jensen (@seankjensen) February 2, 2015

One guy who should say nothing. “@UnderhillAdv: Tharold Simon: "How you throw the ball when you have Marshawn Lynch?"”
— John Halpin (@jhalpin37) February 2, 2015

I’m in the Seahawks locker room. Wow. Talking about despair! Those who can speak are freely ripping that last play call. Big time.
— Terence Moore (@TMooreSports) February 2, 2015

And Mike Silver from the NFL.com says there was actually a conspiracy theory floated by one Seattle player:

"I’ll spare you the numerous “What the (expletive) was he thinking?” mutterings I overheard from people in Seahawks uniforms and refrain from lending any legitimacy to the conspiracy theory which one anonymous player was willing to broach: That Carroll somehow had a vested interest in making Wilson, rather than Lynch, the hero, and thus insisted on putting the ball in the quarterback’s hands with an entire season on the line. “That’s what it looked like,” the unnamed player said, but I’d be willing to bet that he merely muttered it out of frustration, and that it was a fleeting thought."

I actually got a tweet about that theory right after the game and dismissed it, and I still refuse to believe that. What, Pete Carroll had :35 to make a decision with the season on the line and he actually gave an ounce of thought as to who the hero might be?

Perhaps the best take came from Orlando Magic rookie point guard Elfrid Payton:

Jesus Himself the only person that would have kept me from giving marshawn lynch the ball and He would have had to come down and tell me.
— elfrid payton (@elfrid) February 2, 2015