Second Guessing New England Patriots’ Decision To Bench Malcolm Butler On Defense In Super Bowl LII

The New England Patriots lost Super Bowl LII to the Philadelphia Eagles 41-33.  The turning point of the game was a strip sack of Tom Brady.  The Patriots, down by 5, were facing 2nd and 2 with 2:16 left in the game.  Eagles’ defensive end Brandon Graham knocked the ball out of Brady's throwing hand and the Eagles recovered.  A field goal put the Eagles up by 8 with 1:05 left.

That, however, was not the biggest decision of the game.  The most significant decision came before the Patriots' first defensive drive of the game.  One of New England’s top corner backs, Malcolm Butler, was not on the field and didn’t play a snap on defense.  He was in on special teams instead.  According to ESPN, Butler said,"It was a coach's decision. ... I don't know what it was.  I guess I wasn't playing good. They didn't feel comfortable.  I could have changed that game, though."

And that might have been the worst choice Coach Bill Belichick could have made in the Super Bowl.  In the regular season Butler had 2 interceptions, 3 forced fumbles and 55 tackles.  In the postseason he totaled 8 tackles.  Butler covers the opponents’ best wide receiver and quarterbacks don’t look his way.  They know he can pick the ball off or tip it away from the receiver.  Even if the wide receiver hauls it in, he doesn’t go for a long gain because of Butler’s ability to tackle.

The Patriots went with Eric Rowe who covered Alshon Jeffery.  Rowe didn’t have a bad game on Jeffery.  Jeffery was target 8 times and had 3 receptions.  But those receptions were for long gains.  Jeffery had 73 yards and 1 touchdown.  His average gain over Rowe was 24.3 yards per catch.

If Butler is in the game, Foles may still throw it to Jeffery, but Jeffery doesn’t have the same impact on the game.  Butler might have been able to tip some of those passes away and might have made some interceptions.  That could have changed the Super Bowl's outcome.

The Patriots will need to live with the decision to bench Butler on defensive plays.  The Patriots will never know now whether Butler would have made a difference.  But, now he is a free agent and will look to sign somewhere else in the offseason.  Hopefully Butler will have another chance to play in the big game and make an impact.

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