In 2014, the division winners in the AFC were New England in the East, Pittsburgh in the North, Indianapolis in the South, and Denver in the West, with the Wild-Cards going to Cincinnati and Baltimore. In the NFC, it was Dallas in the East, Green Bay in the North, Carolina in the South, and Seattle in the West, with the Wild-Cards going to Detroit and Arizona. In the AFC Wild-Card games, it was the Colts over the Bengals 26-10, and the Ravens over the Steelers 30-17. In the NFC, it was the Cowboys over the Lions 24-20, and the Panthers over the Cardinals 27-16, despite the fact that Carolina went into the playoffs with a 7-8-1 record, while the Cardinals had an 11-5 regular season record. In the AFC Divisional Playoffs, the Colts upset the Broncos 24-13, while the Patriots won a thriller over the Ravens 35-31. The Partiots-Ravens game may go down as one of the great games in NFL history. With only 13 rushing attempts for 14 total
yards, New England put the game almost entirely in the hands of quarterback Tom Brady, who proved up to the task, completing 33 of 50 passes for 367 yards and 3 touchdowns while also rushing for a score as he led the team back from two 14-point deficits to earn their 4th consecutive AFC Championship and their 9th in his 14 years as the team's starter. In the NFC, the Packers would have to do some of their own comeback magic to defeat the Cowboys 26-21, while Seattle would take care of the Panthers 31-17. In the Conference Championship Games, the Patriots would hammer the Colts 45-7, while the Seahawks would need to go to overtime to beat the Packers 28-22, setting up the match-up for Super Bowl XLIX. The game was played on February 1, 2015, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. After the teams were tied 14–14 at halftime, the Seahawks built a ten-point lead to end the third quarter. The Patriots, however, rallied to take a 28–24 lead with roughly two minutes left in the game. Seattle threatened to score in the final moments, driving the ball to New England's 1-yard line. With 26 seconds remaining in the game, they decided to pass the ball in a highly scrutinized play that resulted in Patriots rookie Malcolm Butler making a game-saving interception of Russell Wilson's throw. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was named the game's Most Valuable Player (MVP) after a Super Bowl-record 37 completions on 50 attempts for 328 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions.