National Football League

Seahawks squander opportunity that might not come again

Published Feb. 2, 2015 12:09 a.m. ET

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GLENDALE, Ariz. -- This one will haunt Seattle coach Pete Carroll the entire offseason. Fate was in his corner. Receiver Jermaine Kearse had just made the kind of catch that Giants receiver David Tyree called "supernatural" the last time the Patriots were here chasing destiny in 2008.

Thanks to Kearse's juggling, use-all-body-parts, 33-yard grab, Seattle was on the doorstep of back-to-back Super Bowl titles. It had running back Marshawn Lynch, who had already topped 100 yards and was averaging 4.25 yards a carry. It had the ball on the 1-yard line, and there was less than a minute to play. Everybody knew the play call. At least, everybody knew the play that should be called.

Instead of running Lynch, however, Seattle sent in three receivers to spread out the Patriots, New England stayed in its goal-line defense, and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell called a pass play against stack coverage, over the middle.

"It's not the right matchup for us to run the football, so on second down, we throw the ball really to kind of waste that play," Carroll said. "If we score, we do. If we don't, then we'll run it on third and fourth down."

The Seahawks never got the chance because Patriots rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler stepped in front of receiver Ricardo Lockette to pick off quarterback Russell Wilson's pass and complete New England's crazy 28-24 win on Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium.

"What were they thinking?" Patriots cornerback Brandon Browner asked.

Seahawks nation will be asking that question for months, Here's another: Can Seattle get back? With rare exceptions, the NFL's strict salary cap offers short windows of opportunity for franchises and consistent parity throughout the league.

Cap issues forced the Seahawks to stay out of the free-agent market last year in order to re-sign key players such as safety Earl Thomas and cornerback Richard Sherman. General manager John Schneider told the Seattle Times this week that this offseason could be similar because the Seahawks want to sign Wilson to a contract extension.

Wilson is in the third year of his four-year rookie deal that pays him $662,434 with a cap number of $817,302.

But he can renegotiate that deal after this season, and there has been speculation he could receive a contract that pays him at least $20 million per year.

"It presents challenges, there is no question," Schneider told the Times. "We are still going to be drafting young players and playing young players, so we might not be able to dip into free agency like you may want to here and there or compensate somebody else that you want to compensate that is already on your team."

Seattle's lack of threats at the receiver position was well chronicled this season, but the Seahawks also lost some luster off their pass rush, finishing 20th in the league in sacks (37) after tying for eighth during their 2013 Super Bowl-winning season.

Starting left guard James Carpenter, receivers Lockette and Kearse, starting defensive tackle Kevin Williams and a host of key defensive reserves will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season.

Maybe Seattle believes with Wilson and its elite secondary -- which will be without defesnive coordinator Dan Quinn, now off to be Atlanta's next head coach -- it has the talent to sustain success as its Super Bowl opponent has done for more than a decade.

"It's a similar situation to last year. Everybody has difficult discussions to make," Carroll said. "How will we make it back? One day at a time."

Maybe they will, but tomorrow is never promised in the NFL, so it's hard not to wonder about the opportunity Seattle squandered on Super Bowl Sunday.

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