GLANDALE: Seattle and New England were tied 14-14 at halftime of Super Bowl 49 as the NFL's top teams delivered on the promise of a tense title showdown.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Seattle signal-caller Russell Wilson both threw touchdown passes in the final minute of the second quarter, Wilson shaking off a stuttering start to connect with Chris Matthews with an 11-yard touchdown pass that knotted the score at 14-14 with two seconds on the clock.
The throw capped a drive that saw Seattle march 80 yards in 29 seconds.
Brady had given the Patriots a 14-7 lead with a 22-yard touchdown throw to Rob Gronkowski with 31 seconds left in the half.
Brady, making a record sixth Super Bowl start at quarterback, recovered from an early interception near the Seattle goal line to throw two scoring passes.
That took his career tally in Super Bowl competition to 11, tying the record of Joe Montana.
He completed 20 of 27 passes for 177 yards in the opening half, and gave the Patriots the lead with an 11-yard touchdown throw to Brandon LaFell with 9:47 left in the second quater.
Seattle responded with a scoring drive that included Wilson's 44-yard pass to Matthews and was capped by running back Marshawn Lynch's three-yard touchdown run to make it 7-7.
The Seahawks are trying to become the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls since the Patriots did so a decade ago.
Wilson, 26, is bidding to become the only quarterback to win two Super bowls in his first three seasons.
Brady, meanwhile, can join Montana and Terry Bradshaw as the only quarterbacks with four Super Bowl wins with a victory.--REUTERS