A Closer Look at Malcolm Butler’s Winning Interception

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

New England Patriots rookie corner back, Malcolm Butler, will forever live on in NFL history after snagging the game-winning interception in Super Bowl XLIX against the Seattle Seahawks. It was a big-time play from such a little-known player.

Butler, 24, angled off Ricardo Lockette‘s slant route in the end zone, banged him off the ball and intercepted Russell Wilson to secure New England’s fourth Super Bowl victory since 2001.

“I thought I was going to have to wait until next season,” Butler said when asked about his first career interception following the Super Bowl.

What made the play so surreal was the sequence that unfolded just two plays prior to the interception.

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Needing to score a touchdown to win, Wilson took a shot down the field in the direction of Butler. Butler made a great play on what first appeared to be a broken up pass, but Jermaine Kearse was able to make a juggling circus catch from the seat of his pants. It put Seattle in a goal-to-go situation.

“I went to the sideline, wasn’t feeling too well, my teammates were trying to cheer me up and said I made a great play,” Butler said of the play.

The youngster out of Western Alabama University quickly regained his focus and composure, knowing a big play had to be made in order to keep the Seahawks from winning the Super Bowl.

So how was Butler able to make such an unforgettable play in the biggest moment of his football career? Preparation pays off.

“Goal line, preparation, the formation they were in with the two-receiver stack, I just knew they were throwing a pick route,” he said. “It was on the line, we needed it, and I just beat him to the route and made the play,” said Butler.

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While the football world and especially Patriots fans, watched in shock, Butler’s teammates knew he had what it took to make a play of that caliber.

“In minicamp, he was lights-out. He was special,” Rob Ninkovich said of Butler’s play when seeing him for the first time.

Butler went undrafted and wasn’t even a member of the Patriots final 90-man roster. Every NFL time passed up on the Division II standout. After receiving a tryout invitation, Butler arrived on scene and impressed from the start. He was awarded a job shortly thereafter.

Perhaps what’s most remarkable about Butler is the fact that he wasn’t even supposed to be a major part of the defensive gameplan. He was called upon due to Kyle Arrington‘s struggles in pass coverage. Butler was in on just 17 plays before icing the game. He even revealed that he had been beaten on that same play in practice.

Butler earned the nickname “scrap” from his teammates because of the hard-nosed, feisty style in which he plays with. The Patriots season came full circle when he grabbed that interception, but as did Butler’s life.

From scrapping to find a job to Super Bowl hero. One couldn’t script a more fitting ending to arguably the best title fight in NFL history.