Seahawks will have a tough time living down 'worst play in NFL history,' SI says

GLENDALE, Ari. -- Sigh.

Dreaded reminders of Super Bowl XLIX will not die easily, 12s.

Sports Illustrated kicked off its "NFL Worst Week" Tuesday, highlighting some of the worst "players, people, plays and decisions in the history of the NFL."

To get things off with an alleged bang, NFL reporter Don Banks took time to reflect on the Seahawks final offensive play in Super Bowl XLIX. The play that's burned into Seahawks fans memories. The play, where, 36 inches from the goal line, Russell Wilson's pass fell into the hands of Patriots rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler.

The play that... just, the play.

Well, according to Banks, it's the worst play in NFL history. Banks explains:

Nearly six months have passed since the Seattle Seahawksfound devastation in the desert, one yard shy of claiming back-to-back Super Bowl titles and joining the league’s elite class of champions. Just 36 inches stood between the Seahawks and legitimate dynasty chatter, but instead Pete Carroll’s team suffered the most gruesome and grievous self-inflicted wound imaginable on a football field. The Seahawks passed when they should have run, and because of it, they lost when they should have won. Simplistic, but still so true.


Banks claims the failed call will weigh heavily on the Seahawks this season.

"Time has not even begun to show us the sum of what the Seahawks lost that night," Banks said. "This will be, I predict, a case where past is indeed prologue. This one is going to leave a mark that lingers for some time. It won’t be an easy page-turning in Seattle this year, not after the kind of crushing loss the Seahawks suffered."

Banks compared the play and the entirety of the loss to the 1986 Red Sox World Series loss, the 1990 Bills loss and many other infamous, heartbreaking moments in sports history. The Seahawks have said and done all the right things following the play, Banks writes, but devastation is not overcome easily.

Though Banks says the Hawks will be "knocking on the door" of the Super Bowl this season, the "Super Bowl hangover" will keep the Seahawks out of another championship game.

Because one does not live down the worst play in NFL history so easy.

What do you think, 12s? Will the Hawks stand strong in the face of adversity, or wilt under the weight of their past mistakes?

Only time, and 16 regular season games, will tell.

The Seahawks open up the regular season against the Rams at 10 a.m. Sunday, September 13 on Q13 FOX.