Super Bowl 2026: Darrell Bevell's play call at the 1-yard line again a topic 11 years later
Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler intercepts a pass intended for Seahawks wide receiver Ricardo Lockette in Super Bowl XLIX. Credit: AP/Kathy Willens
This Patriots-Seahawks Super Bowl picked up right where the last one left off.
The very first question on Opening Night on Monday for Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald was about what kind of play he would call if his team finds itself at the 1-yard line late in Sunday’s game with a chance to win a championship.
Not entirely a hypothetical situation.
“I know where this is going,” Macdonald said halfway through the query.
It was a reference to the infamous decision that the Seahawks made in a similar scenario at the end of Super Bowl XLIX when they did not hand it off to Marshawn Lynch and instead asked Russell Wilson to throw a quick pass for Ricardo Lockette that was intercepted by Malcolm Butler. The Patriots won the game, 28-24.
“Best play available,” was all that Macdonald would say about his plans should such a scenario arise again.
Macdonald, coincidentally enough, may not have been the only one being asked about that play on Monday. That was the same day that Darrell Bevell interviewed with the Jets for their offensive coordinator role. Bevell was the offensive play-caller for the Seahawks in that game 11 years ago and his decision to throw the ball there has stuck with him much more than the successes he had (he also was the offensive coordinator the year before when the Seahawks won the Super Bowl). Other candidates for the Jets job include Greg Roman, also interviewed on Monday, and reportedly Frank Reich will interview on Tuesday.
Bevell spent the last four seasons as the Dolphins’ quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator. His last stint as an offensive coordinator was in 2021 with the Jaguars during which he also stepped in as interim head coach. He was also the offensive coordinator in Detroit from 2019-20 and served as their interim head coach at the end of his tenure there.
None of it, though, has been able to erase Bevell’s role in what is widely considered one of the biggest miscalculations in Super Bowl play-calling history.
But who knows? Maybe on Sunday Macdonald and the Seahawks will get a do-over. And maybe Bevell will one day get one of his own.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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