What if?
February 10, 2023
What If? A question anyone has been associated with in sports has pondered all throughout sports history. The importance of already knowing the outcome has happened, but what if the outcome went the other way.
What if the Seattle Seahawks ran the football at the goal line of Super Bowl 49? The Seahawks are coming off a Super Bowl 48 dominant victory over the Denver Broncos and were on pace to be back-to-back Super Bowl Champions.
They had superstar running back Marshawn Lynch in their backfield and head coach Pete Carroll calls a play for quarterback Russell Wilson to throw the ball on the 1-yard line and it was intercepted by New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler and the Patriots would win the game. The play call goes down as one of the worst calls in NFL history.
What if Pete Carroll decides to call a running play and give it to the best running back in the NFL? The Seahawks would score a touchdown to put them up 31-28. That gave minimal time for Tom Brady and the Patriots to try and get a field goal with twenty seconds to go in the game along with two timeouts.
What if the 2013 Auburn vs Alabama Kick Six never happened? This game would have gone into overtime between two of the top four teams in the country.
What if Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant catches the ball against the Green Bay Packers in the 2014 NFC Divisional Round. The Cowboys would score, giving the Cowboys the lead with four minutes to go and giving the Green Bay offense a chance to win the game.
What if New England Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe never got hurt? Tom Brady was the backup quarterback at the time. Would Tom Brady be traded? Would he have the career he had today?
Other notable questions: What if the Tuck Rule never happened and it was ruled a fumble? What if quarterback Patrick Mahomes was drafted by the Chicago Bears? What if Butler power forward Gordon Hayward makes the half-court shot in the 2010 National Championship?