Malcolm Butler Proves To Be More Than One Super Bowl Play For Patriots

Malcolm Butler’s interception in the closing seconds of Super Bowl XLIX always will be a big part of his story. But he’s doing everything he can to make sure that’s not the only chapter.

Butler recently sat down with ESPN staff writer Jackie MacMullan, who wrote an excellent feature on the New England Patriots cornerback, which you can read here. The story traced Butler’s footsteps from a little-known Division II athlete to Super Bowl hero.

Obviously his big interception, which sealed the Patriots’ fourth Super Bowl championship with a 28-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks, was mentioned often in the story, but not necessarily how you would think.

MacMullan mentioned one-hit wonders such as Timmy Smith and Larry Brown from Super Bowls past and how Butler is determined not to let one game or one play define him, too.

“That play couldn’t do anything for me this year except keep a bunch of pressure on me,” Butler told MacMullan. “That’s what I’m known for, and I’ll always carry it with me, but as far as I’m concerned, I was starting from scratch.”

It appears that was the right mindset for Butler to have because he quickly has become the Patriots’ No. 1 cornerback following the departures of Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner.