For years, Seahawks fans and critics alike have wondered why Marshawn Lynch didn't get the ball at the end of Seattle's infamous Super Bowl XLIX loss to the Patriots. It turns out Lynch was just as dumbstruck in the moment, telling Shannon Sharpe's "Club Shay Shay" podcast this week that he laughed in coach Pete Carroll's face immediately following Russell Wilson's goal-line interception.
"To be honest, I looked at nine of the other guys, and they looked at me, like, what the f--- just happened?" Lynch said, recalling Wilson relaying the coaches' decision to pass the ball from the 1-yard line, trailing 28-24, with 26 seconds left. "Man, the look on all my teammates' faces in the huddle, it spoke volumes. ... By the time it (set) in, (I'm thinking), 'What the f--- did he just call?' You just hear all the cheering from the other sideline."
The ensuing interception by the Patriots' Malcolm Butler, which sealed New England's comeback victory, also sent Lynch into the locker room ahead of his teammates.
"As I'm going back to the sideline," he said, "I go by Russ, and I just hear him go, 'Oh man, I'll get 'em next time.' And as I hear the s---, I usually don't take my helmet off, but I take my helmet off and I go right to Pete Carroll's face and I hit his ass with the biggest (laugh). And at that point, I go to the locker room. I'm out. I don't see the last few plays. I'm in the motherf---ing locker room. I think I ran into Lenny Kravitz. ... I called my mama and called the family. 'Hey, come on, we back to the spot.'"
Lynch maintains he has "no idea" why the Seahawks opted not to give him the ball despite his short-yardage success, saying the end of the Super Bowl is still "painful." He can at least take solace in Seattle's championship the year prior, telling Sharpe that the Seahawks could've easily made their 43-8 rout of the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII more lopsided.
