NEW ORLEANS — When Marshawn Lynch completed arguably the most memorable touchdown run in NFL playoff history, he did so with signature Lynch flair.
But while the Seahawks running back was flying backward into the end zone with an unforgettable crotch grab, Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was focused on preserving a piece of football history.
“It’s the greatest run in NFL history, no doubt. He caused an earthquake in the run,” Hasselbeck told cllct during Super Bowl week as he recalled Lynch’s tackle-busting, stiff-arming, bulldozing 67-yard weave through the entire Saints defense in an NFC wild-card game in January 2011.
The run sealed one of the biggest upsets in postseason history as the Seahawks, who finished with a losing record at 7-9 but still won the NFC West, knocked off Drew Brees and the defending Super Bowl champion Saints.
The legend of the run went up a few notches, however, when scientists at the University of Washington revealed they had detected seismic activity as fans jumped to their feet in celebration at Seattle’s Qwest Field.
The “Beastquake” was born.
The moment was not lost on Hasselbeck, who was playing his final home game in his 10 seasons with the Seahawks.
When the QB saw Lynch simply drop the ball following his theatrics in the end, Hasselbeck and receiver Ben Obomanu had the presence of mind to pick up the football and preserve it.
"We're like, we should save this ball," he said. "We bring it over, give it to the equipment guys and (said), ‘Save this for Marshawn.’”
There was only one problem: Brees threw an interception on the Saints’ ensuing possession, and the Seahawks offense needed to take the field one last time.
That's where the story took a turn that was unbeknownst to Hasselbeck at the time.
“We have to go back out and take a knee,” Hasselbeck said. “So Marshawn, being classic Marshawn, he takes that ball and gives it to the official and says, ‘Hey, I want to close the game out with this ball.’
“I don't know if he thought we were going to run the ball, but we were just taking a knee.”
After Hasselbeck knelt out the clock, Lynch sprinted to the locker room. A few years before “I’m just here so I don’t get fined,” Lynch wanted to avoid reporters, and he left the ball behind.
Hasselbeck, meanwhile, was soaking in the moment. He carried the ball to his on-field interview with NBC and then took a final victory lap with his three children on the field.
“My kids have never been on the field postgame in their life,” Hasselbeck said. “I put my son on my shoulders, give my middle daughter the ball, and I hold my other daughter's hand. And basically that's all I know of the story.”
For years, Hasselbeck had no idea the ball he gave to daughter Mallory was a piece of NFL postseason history.
It wasn’t until a few years later, after Hasselbeck had moved on to the Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts, when the QB learned the truth.
NFL Films reached out to speak with him about the moment and during the interview, Hasselbeck learned Lynch’s historic ball had been put back into play in the final minute.
“Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, you gotta get that ball back to him,’” Hasselbeck said. “And I'm like, you guys don't understand. … That ball has been in her room for years. That ball has been in our swimming pool. It has been in my dog's mouth. That ball is scuffed up. …
“(The ball) is nothing mint. But maybe that's what makes it mint, because Marshawn is not mint. He's something else green.”
Hasselbeck said he has never tried to have the ball authenticated, but “there’s no doubt” it’s the Beastquake ball, even if it might be tough for him to find it amongst all the footballs he saved from his 18-year NFL career.
“I just haven't taken the time because, you know, I stopped collecting, I guess, in a way,” he said. “But there's a way for a professional to figure it out for sure.”
Although he might have “stopped collecting,” Hasselbeck still has a treasure trove of football memorabilia in his home, including jerseys from Emmitt Smith, John Elway, Shaquille O’Neal and Roger Clemens. He also has memorabilia from the NFL career of his father, Don, who won Super Bowl XVIII with the Los Angeles Raiders in 1984.
Athleticism runs in the family, as Mallory is currently the women’s lacrosse at Boston College, where older sister, Annabelle, won two national championships. And son Henry, who was just a wide-smiling 5-year-old when his dad carried him off the field on his shoulders following the Beastquake, is now a quarterback at UCLA.
The photo of his family leaving the field together 14 years ago represents one of Hasselbeck’s most special memories — made all the more valuable now that he knows the full story of the relic his daughter was carrying.
Kevin Jackson is the Chief Content Officer at cllct. He lives in the Seattle area and was one of the Seahawks fans who helped create the "Beastquake" in 2011.