Super Bowl: Patriots, Seahawks in rare halftime tie

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski catches a 22-yard touchdown pass in front of Seattle Seahawks outside linebacker K.J. Wright (50) during the first half of NFL Super Bowl XLIX football game Sunday, February 1, 2015, in Glendale, Arizona. AP

GLENDALE, Arizona, United States — Russell Wilson threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Chris Matthews with 2 seconds left in the second quarter and the Seattle Seahawks tied the Super Bowl at 14 despite being outplayed by the New England Patriots for most of the half.

Matthews’ first career catch set up Marshawn Lynch’s 3-yard touchdown run that tied it at 7. His second catch capped a five-play, 80-yard drive that took just 29 seconds.

It’s only the third time a Super Bowl was tied at halftime.

After Tom Brady tossed a 22-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski with 31 seconds left in the second quarter to give the Patriots a 14-7 lead, the Seahawks answered quickly.

Robert Turbin ran 19 yards. Wilson followed with a 17-yard run. Wilson then connected with Ricardo Lockette for 23 yards and a facemask penalty away from the ball tacked on 10 yards. Instead of kicking a field goal, the Seahawks ran one more play with 6 seconds remaining. Matthews beat Logan Ryan to make the catch.

The Patriots outgained Seattle 222-167, but the Seahawks got 80 yards on the final drive.

The teams got down to football under the open retractable roof at University of Phoenix Stadium after dealing with distractions far beyond typical Super Bowl hype over the past two weeks.

The Patriots are being investigated for using under-inflated footballs in their 45-7 win over Indianapolis in the AFC championship game. Meanwhile, star running back Lynch was a daily sideshow for the Seahawks this week because he refused to answer questions from the media.

In the 12th matchup between No. 1 seeds since 1975 and the second in a row, the Seahawks (14-4) are trying to become the first team to win consecutive Super Bowls since the Patriots (14-4) a decade ago. Seattle routed Denver 43-8 last year.

Brady bounced back after throwing an interception in the end zone to throw his NFL record-setting 50th postseason TD pass on the next drive and then tied Joe Montana’s Super Bowl record with his 11th TD pass.

Brady threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Brandon LaFell before the Seahawks responded with their best drive of the game. Matthews — who made the crucial onside kick recovery in the NFC title game — made a twisting catch over Kyle Arrington for 44 yards to the Patriots 11. Two runs later, Lynch scored on third-and-goal.

Lane made his first career interception on Brady’s poor throw and weaved his way to the 14 before Julian Edelman knocked his own helmet off while making the tackle. Lane went to the locker room after being injured on the return.

The interception ended a 58-yard Patriots’ drive that lasted 7:20. Brady threw the interception from the 10 on third-and-6, throwing off his back foot and taking a crunching hit from Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril after he released the ball.

The Patriots have tied Dallas and Pittsburgh for most Super Bowl appearances with eight. They’re trying to become the sixth franchise to win at least four. Brady and coach Bill Belichick — the only coach-QB combo to reach six together — led the Patriots to three Super Bowl titles from 2001-04, but lost twice to the New York Giants in 2008 and 2011.

Brady and New England’s prolific passing attack are facing a tough challenge against Seattle’s “Legion of Boom” secondary. All-Pros Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas were in the starting lineup after both were injured in the NFC championship game against Green Bay. Kam Chancellor, a three-time Pro Bowl safety, also started after hurting his knee in Friday’s practice.

After John Legend delivered a stirring rendition of “America The Beautiful,” Idina Menzel followed with a rousing performance of the national anthem. A pro-Seahawks crowd booed when Belichick was shown on the video screen during the anthem.

At halftime, the lights went out, and Katy Perry took over the stadium with a colorful concert that included Lenny Kravitz.