Richard Sherman still brings up the Malcolm Butler interception from Super Bowl XLIX
Coming off a 43-8 win over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII, the Seattle Seahawks received championship rings with the engraving, “WHAT’S NEXT?”
What came next was a 28-24 loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX. And Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman still hasn’t recovered from his team’s devastating defeat, according to ESPN’s Seth Wickersham.
To say Malcolm Butler’s goal-line interception left Sherman distraught and disappointed would be an understatement, per Wickersham’s conversations with the Seahawks coaching staff. He wrote:
According to interviews with numerous current and former Seahawks players, coaches and staffers, few have taken it harder than Richard Sherman. He has told teammates and friends that he believes the Seahawks should have won multiple Super Bowls by now.
The outspoken veteran, who at one point was on the Patriots’ offseason radar, reportedly will still bring up the infamous final play. Wickersham wrote:
Less than three weeks before the playoffs, Sherman was bringing up the Butler interception. Some players felt that if Carroll had just once stood before the team and apologized for not ramming Marshawn Lynch into New England’s front from the 1-yard line — a front that had stuffed him on short yardage twice earlier — they would have had closure. But Carroll never apologized. And won’t. By calling a pass, he wanted to maximize his scoring chances and preserve his last timeout.
