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NEED TO KNOW
With less than 30 seconds left, and the Seattle Seahawks on the goal line, it looked like Super Bowl XLIX was over for the New England Patriots
However, Malcolm Butler made a game-ending interception, which is still regarded as one of the best moments in Super Bowl history
Over a decade later, the cornerback now talks to PEOPLE about how the play came to be
It's rare in a Super Bowl for a rookie to change the outcome of the game, but in 2015, the last time the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots faced off on football's biggest stage, that's exactly what happened.
DuringSuper Bowl XLIX,deep into the fourth quarter, Russell Wilson and his team were right on the goal line, and the clock was ticking. The Patriots were only up by four points, expecting their dreams to be crushed, but then the unthinkable happened — all thanks to undrafted rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler.
Now, a decade later, Butler talks to PEOPLE abouthis famous interceptionthat secured the victory for the Patriots.
"A couple plays before, I made a great pass breakup, and the wide receivers still caught it," Butler, now 35, reflects. "In my head, I'm like, 'Hey, this game is over with, man. I know I'm not going to get another opportunity to show what I got or make a play,' but I was wrong."
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The retired NFL player says the Patriots had gone over the exact defensive play in practice before the big game — and he had done it incorrectly.
"We went over this play in practice, and I didn't execute the play right. I wentbehindthe wide receiver instead of over the top of the wide receiver," he explains.
However, after realizing his mistake in practice, he knew what to look for during the game.
"The formation looked very similar, and I told multiple people over and over, 'if they run the ball, the cornerback is most likely not gonna make that tackle.' There's always a chance somebody can do something different, no matter what you think this thing is gonna do that is supposed to be right."
With just 29 seconds left in the game, the Seahawks had the ball at the Patriots' goal line, needing a touchdown to win. When Wilson hiked the ball, he threw a short pass intended for wide receiver Ricardo Lockette.
While the Seahawks were "thinking outside the box," Butler notes that he "was thinking outside the box, too."
"I knew that the wide receiver can't run too far because we were close to the goal line, so his route's gonna be quick," he explained. "It was man-to-man. I ain't had no business looking at the run anyway."
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Butler came from behind Lockette and intercepted the ball, resulting in victory for the Patriots. Once he took a knee and his teammates piled on top of him, the reality of the win settled in.
"I really couldn't feel anything because it happened so fast, but I ain't never seen a group of grown men cry like that after I caught that ball," he shares. "They just piled on top of me, they were crying and [saying], 'Oh, I can't believe you did it.' "
While Butler always thought of himself as a "tough guy," he admits he "cried" too.
"It felt great," he tells PEOPLE.
At the time, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said, "It wasn't the way we drew it up. It was a lot of mental toughness. Our team has had it all year. We never doubted each other, so that's what it took."
The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots areset for a rematch in Super Bowl LXon Feb. 8.
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