Had Brandon Bostick stuck to his assignment, Green Bay might be Super Bowl bound.
Instead, the Packers tight end goes down as one of the more notorious playoff goats in years after reaching for the ball on a Seahawks onside kick with 2:09 remaining in Sunday's NFC title game. The ball deflected off his hands into the mitts of Seattle wideout Chris Matthews.
Four plays later, Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch rumbled into the end zone for the go-ahead score in a game Seattle would ultimately win 28-22 in overtime.
"I let my team down, I feel like," Bostick said, per ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky. "There was a lot on this game. I just feel like if I was able to do my job -- my assignment was to block -- (receiver) Jordy (Nelson) would've caught the ball and the game would've been over."
Said Bostick: "I felt like I had my hands on the ball. It just slipped away, I guess. I just got hit and didn't have the ball."
Packers coach Mike McCarthy refused to blame Bostick for the loss, but acknowledged the special-teamer failed to stick to the script.
"Brandon, just like anything, you get into one of those critical spots, it is important for everybody to do their job," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "Unfortunately that wasn't the case on that play. And that's the result of it."
Bostick is in for a long offseason, but he isn't alone: The finger of blame points in many directions on a day that saw Green Bay hand away a 16-0 halftime lead to send Seattle back to the promised land.
The latest Around The NFL Podcast recaps Championship Sunday, and breaks down the Seahawks' historic comeback against the Packers. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
