At one point in the second half, it looked like Seahawks wide receiver Chris Matthews would go from obscurity to Super Bowl hero.
Matthews had a big game for the Seahawks, but he’s at least sharing the unlikely hero prize with Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler. Butler’s interception with seconds to play thwarted the Seahawks as they were a yard away from taking the lead and helped make the Patriots 28-24 winners in Arizona.
“I just had a vision that I was gonna make a big play and it came true,” Butler said to Michelle Tafoya of NBC Sports just after the final whistle.
Butler probably didn’t have much company on that vision quest. Butler overcame long odds to make the Patriots as an undrafted free agent who played his college ball at West Alabama and played just 15 snaps in the AFC Championship game victory, leaving him off the radar for plenty of fans heading into Sunday night.
Thanks to an expert read on Russell Wilson’s intentions, Butler has a much higher profile with the season at its end. In case you missed Butler’s reaction to the biggest night of his professional life, you can watch it below.