No one was more happy after Malcolm Butler's game-winning interception at the end of Super Bowl XLIX than New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
The NBC cameras captured Brady jumping up and down with a smile on his face and falling into the arms of his offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
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The Super Bowl victory was a long time coming for Brady. He and the Patriots hadn't won a Lombardi Trophy since the 2004 season, and in that 10-year span they lost twice to the New York Giants in heartbreaking fashion. It appeared New England was set for another excruciating Super Bowl defeat until Butler saved the day with his interception of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson at the goal line.
NBC Sports Network showed a replay of Super Bowl XLIX earlier this week, and Butler joined the broadcast. He provided some great insight into what happened that night, including a message Brady had for him following the dramatic win.
“On the film, after the Super Bowl, he's telling me, ‘Malcolm, are you kidding me?'” Butler said on the NBCSN re-broadcast Tuesday night. “But I think, later on, after the game, he told me, ‘You finally caught one that counts.’ Because I used to pick him off in training camp, somewhat, and that was my first interception. He hit it on the head with that one. I finally caught one that counted. It really counted.”
In one of the NFL Films documentaries on the 2014 Patriots, Butler is seen during Super Bowl week practice going through the exact play he intercepted Wilson on. He saw the play in practice, so he was prepared when it came up in a game situation.
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Butler, to this day, is still surprised the Seahawks didn't just give the ball to star running back Marshawn Lynch at the goal line.
"Well, yeah, I can't believe they didn't hand it off to him," Butler admitted. "They should've handed it to him. But we called goal line three corners (defense), so I guess they were trying to go the opposite way. It just backfired. It was a good play, I just wanted it more."
Brady wound up winning Super Bowl XLIX MVP, and he would claim one more Lombardi Trophy with Butler in Super Bowl LI before the talented cornerback left the Patriots as a free agent in 2017. No matter what Butler does for the rest of his career, that interception to win Super Bowl XLIX will be his signature play.