WEEKLY WHINE

A game in which the knee figured prominently

There now follows a ranking of all scoring plays that occurred during yesterday’s Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks. Criteria included importance, difficulty, and silliness.

As it turned out, very few of the scoring plays were silly in any way. There was plenty of silliness in the rest of the game, though, most of which was concentrated in Pete Carroll’s mind when he chose to pass on second and goal.

1. Seattle touchdown at 00:02 in second quarter [R Wilson 11 yd pass to C Matthews]: Seattle took a quick shot at the end zone with seconds remaining before halftime, and Matthews made it a success.
2. Seattle touchdown at 04:54 in third quarter [R Wilson 3 yd pass to D Baldwin]: Bobby Wagner’s interception led to this touchdown, in which Baldwin used umpire Bill Schuster to screen his mark, Darrelle Revis.
3. New England touchdown at 02:02 in fourth quarter [T Brady 3 yd pass to J Edelman]: After holding Seattle to a three and out, New England went on another long but fast drive, concluding with this passing touchdown that reclaimed the lead.
4. New England touchdown at 00:31 in second quarter [T Brady 22 yd pass to R Gronkowski]: Good catch by Gronkowski to take the lead just before halftime. Brady’s 11th touchdown pass in a Super Bowl, equalling Joe Montana’s record.
5. New England touchdown at 09:47 in second quarter [T Brady 11 yd pass to B LaFell]: First score of the day, and a successful completion to a 65 yard drive.
6. Seattle touchdown at 02:16 in second quarter [M Lynch 3 yd run]: Seattle’s first score of the day. Ended the team’s first drive of any significant length.
7. New England touchdown at 07:55 in fourth quarter [T Brady 4 yd pass to D Amendola]: New England pulled back within three on this 68 yard touchdown drive.
8. Seattle field goal at 11:09 in third quarter [S Hauschka 27 yd kick]: Seattle took the lead for the first time on this field goal, concluding the first possession of the second half.
9. New England extra point at 02:02 in fourth quarter [S Gostkowski 20 yd kick]: Routine extra point.
10. New England extra point at 07:55 in fourth quarter [S Gostkowski 20 yd kick]: Routine extra point.
11. Seattle extra point at 04:54 in third quarter [S Hauschka 20 yd kick]: Routine extra point.
12. Seattle extra point at 00:02 in second quarter [S Hauschka 20 yd kick]: Routine extra point.
13. New England extra point at 00:31 in second quarter [S Gostkowski 20 yd kick]: Routine extra point.
14. Seattle extra point at 02:16 in second quarter [S Hauschka 20 yd kick]: Routine extra point.
15. New England extra point at 09:47 in second quarter [S Gostkowski 20 yd kick]: Routine extra point. Maybe Roger Goodell is right about the narrow uprights.