Jermaine Kearse's insane Super Bowl catch that didn't end up mattering

David Tyree has haunted the New England Patriots for the past seven years.

And Sunday, in the same building in which Tyree made his improbable helmet catch in the New York Giants' stunning victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, it appeared that Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jermaine Kearse would push aside Tyree as the next-generation Tyree Patriots tormentor.

Russell Wilson has caught fire, and he was moving the Seahawks down the field with ease to try to erase a four-point deficit in the final minutes of the game. Wilson threw a pass to Kearse down the right sideline, and it was well defended by Patriots corner Malcolm Butler, who had replaced the ineffective Kyle Arrington.

Butler tipped the ball, and it appeared to be a great defensive play. But like the Tyree play, Kearse stuck with it and caught the ball — incredibly — after tipping it to himself once. The ball never hit the ground.

To the credit of the Patriots, who went on to win 28-24, they didn't lose their cool. (Unlike the Seahawks, who called for a slant pass and not a Marshawn Lynch handoff, for some inexplicable reason.)

"I felt like I did my job, but it still hurt me that he caught it," Butler told NFL Network's Alex Flanagan after the game. "I just had to step up and make a play."

[Super Bowl XLIX finish turns ugly after brawl]

So Butler did. And Kearse's miracle bobbling catch will go down as a footnote in Super Bowl history, and not one of the greatest and flukiest plays ever had the Seahawks finished off the Patriots.

Tyree still has his moment, but the Patriots got the last laugh Sunday night.

- - - - - - -

Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm