HOUSTON — Dan Quinn was 1 yard away from beating the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX, but Marshawn Lynch didn’t get the ball at the 1.
And Quinn may again have been the longest yard away from beating the Patriots when he decided to have Matt Ryan pass on third-and-1 at his 36 with a 28-12 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Ryan was sacked by Dont’a Hightower and fumbled the ball away to Alan Branch and opened the door to history to Tom Brady.
At the end of this bitter 34-28 overtime loss to the Patriots, Quinn was asked if he second-guessed the fateful decision.
“When it doesn’t work, for sure,” he said. “But I don’t second-guess our playcalling or wanting to throw it. Honestly, we’ve got terrific guys. We know how to matchup. We know how to get open. That part of our game is so intact. The connection between Matt and Ju (Julio Jones) and the guys — no, I don’t.
“We thought we’d have a good look based on the personnel that was in the game for them. We trust our guys, so we thought that was the opportunity to let it rip. When it doesn’t go that way, it’s easy to question it.”
Brady possessed the ball for 40:31.
“I think for sure we ran out of gas some,” Quinn said.
Quinn tried hard to look at the glass as half-full. It wasn’t easy for him.
“A loss like tonight, although it’s difficult, I would like to think that this group, we’re putting our stamp and we’re just getting started to what we can be,” Quinn said.
“That’s a hard one in the locker room. No place to put that one mentally for us. But I am proud of the fight that these guys have. The Brotherhood that these guys have built, it’s as strong as I’ve seen, and that part is real. That connection that these guys have, not only with themselves, but with our city, it’s so strong. I love them, they battled. Tonight we came up short.”