Keep up with TheAOSN.com’s live blog of the Super Bowl here!
5:15 pm: Teams have begun warming up, and fans are slowly beginning to fill the stands.
5:18 pm: In case anyone is wondering, Puppy Bowl reruns are currently airing on Animal Planet.
5:20 pm: Super Bowl inactives list:
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: DE Zach Moore, WR Josh Boyce, WR Brian Tyms, DT Joe Vellano, OL Jordan Devey, RB James White, RB Jonas Gray
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: QB B.J. Daniels, DB Marcus Burley, OL Patrick Lewis, OL Keavon Milton, OL Garry Gilliam, DE David King, WR Kevin Norwood
Gray is the most notable omission, having made a big splash back in week 11 as the starting RB for New England. On Seattle’s side, Gilliam is ruled out of the Super Bowl after his touchdown catch on a fake field goal spurred a second-half comeback in the NFC Championship.
5:30 pm: Your NBC commentary team, Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth:
6:15 pm: The teams have taken the field.
6:10 pm: Thomas Davis of the Carolina Panthers is recognized for winning the Walter Payton Man of the Year award. A moment of silence is also held for Ann Mara, who passed away this morning.
6:20 pm: John Legend performs “America the Beautiful”.
It is time…#SB49 pic.twitter.com/eY8HIQchWD
— Pro Football on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) February 1, 2015
6:28 pm: Coin toss. New England to receive ball first. 11:44, 1st Quarter: Tom Brady throws an incomplete pass on 3rd and 4, forcing New England to punt after picking up a first down. New England declines a running into the kicker penalty.
That’s 39 straight games without an opening TD given up by Seattle — trey wingo (@wingoz) February 1, 2015
10:04, 1st: 3-and-out for Seattle after 3 straight runs by Marshawn Lynch fails to move the chains.
5:35, 1st: That’s 7 completions for Brady, the longest of which has gone for just 11 yards.
4:03, 1st: New England is winning the battle at the line of scrimmage right now. Brady getting plenty of time to pass, and Legarrette Blount has been able to find a couple of gaps for early gains.
1:55, 1st: TURNOVER. Jeremy Lane picks off Brady in the Seattle end zone to kill off a promising drive for New England.
END FIRST QUARTER: Scoreless game. Both teams remaining disciplined on defensive end. Seattle offensive line bought Russell Wilson plenty of time on last drive, but good coverage downfield prevented a pass. First quarter total yardage: New England 75, Seattle 20. 10:07, 2nd: New England in the red zone again after a long gainer to Julian Edelman. TOUCHDOWN, NEW ENGLAND! Brady completes the pass to Brandon LaFell to open the scoring. Drive summary: 9 plays, 65 yards, 4:10
8:05, 2nd: With just over a 3rd of the game gone, Seattle has just one first down on offense.
5:21, 2nd: Wilson completes his first pass of the game to pick up a first down. Seattle attempting to get a drive going late in the 2nd.
3:49, 2nd: Chris Matthews reins in a 44-yard catch to put Seattle in the red zone.
TOUCHDOWN, SEATTLE! Lynch ties up the game with a plunge into the end zone from the 2-yard line. Drive summary: 8 plays, 70 yards, 4:51.
TOUCHDOWN, NEW ENGLAND! The Patriots strike with 31 seconds left in the first half, as Brady hits Rob Gronkowski with a fade pass in the right corner of the end zone. Drive summary: 8 plays, 80 yards, 1:45 .
TOUCHDOWN, SEATTLE! Matthews does it again, with the 11-yard grab to cap off a 29-second drive following the touchback after New England’s kickoff from the prior score.
Chris Matthews entered today with ZERO NFL catches. Chris Matthews now has 2 catches with 55 yards and 1 TD. Not a bad @SuperBowl #SB49
— NFL (@nfl) February 2, 2015
HALFTIME, Seattle and New England tied at 14. Brady’s short passing game, as expected, is giving Seattle fits. Seattle head coach Pete Carroll skirted a fine line between genius and madman on that game-tying drive to end the half, as there were only 6 seconds left on the clock when Wilson completed the pass to Matthews.
RE-GIF of that last touchdown for the @seahawks pic.twitter.com/KCVjkxByrw #SB49 — Mashable (@mashable) February 2, 2015
13:48, 3rd: Matthews with another long catch, this time for 45 yards. That’s 3 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown already. His first 3 catches of his career.
FIELD GOAL, SEATTLE! Stephen Hauschka connects from 27 yards to give Seattle their first lead of the game at 17-14.
TURNOVER Bobby Wagner steps in front of Gronkowski on a 3rd-and-long pass and picks it off inside the New England half.
TOUCHDOWN, SEATTLE! Play action, and Wilson drops in a touch pass to a wide-open Doug Baldwin in the end zone to make it 24-14 after Darrelle Revis is picked in the end zone by the back judge.
Seattle are facing some injury issues now, even with the double-digit lead. DB Jeremy Lane is out with a broken wrist sustained during his interception return, and DE Cliff Avril back in the locker room per NFL concussion protocol. Seattle will be taking over on offense from their own 20 following a touchback, and will be looking for a long drive to rest the defense.
END 3RD QUARTER: New England face a daunting task now, as Seattle has only given up 13 points in the 4th quarter since November, a 6-game stretch.
TOUCHDOWN, NEW ENGLAND! Danny Amendola gets open in the back of the end zone to cap a 9-play, 68-yard drive. The touchdown snaps a 17-point unanswered streak by Seattle.
It’s ain’t over yet. @Patriots’s Danny Amendola makes it 24-21 pic.twitter.com/Ld8GCek4ef #SB49
— Mashable (@mashable) February 2, 2015
7:55 remaining in the game, and Seattle is holding on to a 24-21 lead. Some lack of discipline has crept into Seattle’s game, with a drop killing the previous drive and a personal foul penalty gifting New England a big chunk of yardage on that Patriots scoring drive.
7:00, 4th: New England DB Malcolm Butler gets away with a trip on Wilson’s first-down pass, and Seattle goes 3-and-out. New England will take over at their own 36.
4:56, 4th: The short passing game appears to be firing on all cylinders again. Shane Vereen and Edelman the go-to receivers so far on this drive. An offensive pass interference call on Danny Amendola is taking the Patriots back, however.
3:26, 4th: Patriots in the end zone after two Brady-Gronkowski connections.
2:52, 4th: 1st-and-goal Patriots from the Seattle 5. Brady takes a timeout.
TOUCHDOWN, NEW ENGLAND! Patriots take the 28-24 lead on a 3-yard pass from Brady to Edelman. Drive summary: 10 plays, 64 yards, 4:45.
2:02 remaining. Kickoff is a touchback. Seattle will get a free timeout on this drive with the 2-minute warning.
1:55, 4th: Lynch splits wide and takes a looping pass 31 yards into the New England half. TWO MINUTE WARNING.
1:32, 4th: Wilson completes to Ricardo Lockett for a first down after two incompletions going deep.
1:06, 4th: Jermaine Kearse makes a circus juggling catch at the New England 6-yard line.
0:55, 4th: Lynch takes it down to the 1-yard line.
0:20, 4th: INTERCEPTION. Butler intercepts a Wilson play at the goal line.
New England draws an offside penalty at their own 2-yard line, and Brady is able to take a knee.
0:18, 4th: A brawl breaks out after Brady takes a knee. Multiple players involved. Seattle’s Bruce Irvin is ejected.
WINNER: New England Patriots, 28-24
(Feature image: @SNFonNBC)