Super Bowl XLIX quarter-by-quarter analysis

FOURTH QUARTER: Patriots 28, Seahawks 24
Brady finally found a groove while the New England defense put Seattle in a rut. Blount was stonewalled on third-and-1 to start the period, killing another drive. But the New England defense came up with a key stop as Rob Ninkovich bagged Wilson on a coverage sack. Brady marched the Patriots down the field, hooking up for two 21-yard completions to Edelman, who was clearly laboring, while receiving 15 gift yards from Seattle's Earl Thomas on a roughing penalty.

Brady missed Edelman for a TD but came right to Amendola for a 4-yard score. The New England defense stiffened again, sending Seattle to another three-and-out. Brady stuck with what had worked: Vereen here, Edelman there, a dose of Gronk and back to Vereen. Then Simon was back in the crosshairs, unable to contain Edelman who easily evaded the beleaguered rookie for the go-ahead 3-yard TD.

Despite all that, Wilson had Seattle in position to repeat, driving the Seahawks 79 yards with the help of an amazing 33-yard catch by Kearse, who gathered a caroming pass at the New England 5 on his back. But Wilson inexplicably passed from the 1-yard line rather than feed Lynch and was picked off by rookie Malcolm Butler, who beat Lockette to the ball. Game. Set. Match. Lombardi. Dynasty day.

THIRD QUARTER: Seahawks 24, Patriots 14

Seattle's offense stayed hot on the heels of a sizzling halftime show by Katy Perry. Sticking with their first-half studs on the opening drive, Lynch ground out 25 yards on four carries while Matthews struck again, hauling in a 45-yard pass from Wilson. However Lynch was stuffed on third-and-1 at the Patriots 8-yard line, forcing the Seahawks to settle for a 27-yard Steven Hauschka field goal but their first lead.

Brady tried to go back to his own big gun but was victimized again by the Seattle defense as all-pro linebacker Bobby Wagner undercut Gronkowski for another interception, the first time Brady had thrown multiple picks in a Super Bowl. The mistake proved costly. Set up by a 15-yard Wilson run, Seattle reached the end zone again as Doug Baldwin finally shook free of star corner Darrelle Revis, who was obstructed by an official on the crossing route, for a 3-yard TD and 10-point Seattle lead.

At that point, advantageous patterns began to emerge for Seattle. A Bennett-powered pass rush relentlessly pursued Brady, now forced to largely revert to an empty backfield and one-dimensional passing offense, which undermined itself with a killer holding penalty.

SECOND QUARTER: Seahawks 14, Patriots 14

The teams continued parrying as both offenses hit their stride.

Lane's injury exposed a vulnerability Brady instantly targeted. Rather than challenge top corners Richard Sherman or Byron Maxwell, the two-time MVP went after Lane's replacement, Tharold Simon. Julian Edelman beat the second-year corner for 23 yards to the Seattle 12-yard line. Two plays later, Brandon LaFell gained position on Simon and Brady drilled him with an 11-yard TD pass.

Seattle wasted no time with a response. Quarterback Russell Wilson, who escaped a pick by Logan Ryan on a poor throw, didn't complete his first pass until the fourth drive with his "pedestrian" receivers consistently failing to get open. But his second hook-up covered 44 yards to Chris Matthews, the rookie's first career catch. Three Lynch carries and 11 yards later and Seattle was in the end zone. A slow starter most of the season, Lynch managed 45 rushing yards before halftime.
But the Pats countered, their gameplan bearing fruit. Vereen, Edelman and Danny Amendola effectively worked between the numbers, an area of the field the top-ranked Seattle defense typically shuts down. But the short stuff set up a shot outside to Gronkowski, quiet to that point before he easily beat linebacker K.J. Wright down the sideline for a 22-yard TD.

Wilson was undeterred, driving the Seahawks 80 yards in five plays -- a New England facemaks penalty helped -- with reserve receivers Ricardo Lockette and Matthews doing the heavy lifting, the latter snaring an 11-yard TD over Ryan with 2 seconds to go as coach Pete Carroll eschewed a field goal on a gutsy call.

FIRST QUARTER: Seahawks 0, Patriots 0

The feeling-out process for the NFL's top heavyweights began with some light sparring followed by big jabs in a speedy first quarter.

The Patriots seemed primed to draw first blood, driving 58 yards in 12 plays to the Seahawks 10-yard line with a nice mix of runs and passes. But then Seattle landed a counterpunch with nickelback Jeremy Lane's end-zone interception of Tom Brady, the quarterback's third career Super Bowl interception in his sixth Super Sunday start. Heavy pressure from Seahawks DE Michael Bennett contributed to Brady's wayward pass.

However Lane injured his left arm during the runback, further weakening a Legion of Boom secondary that entered the game banged up, including SS Kam Chancellor's knee injury, suffered Friday.

The game began with a pair of inconsequential drives ending in punts as the Patriots spread the ball around while the Seahawks tried to establish Marshawn Lynch with three consecutive carries. The Patriots appeared ready to lean heavily on their backfield as Brady threw three passes to scatback Shane Vereen while LeGarrette Blount carried eight times.***

Follow Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis