GLENDALE, Ariz. — Running back Jonas Gray’s moment in the spotlight turned out to be very, very brief this year for the New England Patriots.

Gray, who rushed for 201 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-20 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 16, was seldom used after that and was inactive for Super Bowl XLIX against the Seattle Seahawks at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Gray was New England’s leading rusher in the regular season with 412 yards and five touchdowns.

His inclusion on the inactive list came as a slight surprise to many who thought the Patriots could use him against Seattle’s top-ranked defense. But the return of LeGarrette Blount limited Gray’s playing time, and he had only four carries for four yards in two playoff games.

Blount rushed for 189 yards and three touchdowns in three playoff games. On Sunday, he rushed 14 times for 40 yards in the Patriots’ 28-24 win.

One name that wasn’t on the inactive list was rookie center Bryan Stork, who missed the AFC championship game because of a knee injury suffered in the first half of the divisional victory over Baltimore.

That was good news for the offensive line, which featured Nate Solder at left tackle, Dan Connolly at left guard, Stork at center, Ryan Wendell at right guard and Sebastian Vollmer at right tackle.

When that group was healthy and together during the regular season, Tom Brady was sacked only four times in eight games. He was sacked 17 times in the other eight games, which featured different offensive line combinations.

All the other players on the Patriots’ inactive list were healthy scratches: running back James White, offensive lineman Jordan Devey, wide receivers Josh Boyce and Bryan Tyms, defensive linemen Joe Vellano and Zach Moore.

Seattle’s inactive players included quarterback B.J. Daniels, offensive linemen Patrick Lewis, Keavon Milton and Garry Gilliam, wide receiver Kevin Norwood, defensive end David King and cornerback Marcus Burley.

WHEN HE took the first snap of the game, Tom Brady set a Super Bowl record for most starts (6) by a quarterback. He also tied Mike Lodish for most Super Bowl appearances (6) by a player. Lodish, a defensive lineman, appeared in four with Buffalo and two with Denver.

Brady also threw four touchdown passes to pass Joe Montana for most in Super Bowl history. Brady now has 13 touchdown passes in the Super Bowl. Montana had 11. Brady also has a record 53 postseason touchdown passes.

Brady set another Super Bowl record with 20 first-half completions. He was 20 of 27 for 177 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception.

The previous record was 19, held by three quarterbacks.

Brady then set the Super Bowl record for completions in a game with 37. He completed 37 of 50 passes for 328 yards.

BILL BELICHICK tied Don Shula with six Super Bowl appearances as a head coach. All of Belichick’s are with New England. Shula had five with Miami and one with the Baltimore Colts. Belichick also tied Dan Reeves with nine Super Bowl appearances overall as either a coach or player.

THE PATRIOTS lost the coin toss, which is usually good news for them. Their three Super Bowl wins – over St. Louis, Carolina and Philadelphia – came after they lost the coin toss.

AND ONCE again, New Eng-land didn’t score in the first quarter. The Patriots have not scored in the first quarter of any of the six Super Bowls with Belichick as head coach and Brady as quarterback. Strange magic there.

The Patriots had an opportunity Sunday, driving to the Seahawks 10 late in the first quarter. But on third-and-6, Brady threw an interception to Jeremy Lane at the goal line.

Lane was injured on the return when he was tackled by Julian Edelman.

THERE’S A good chunk of cash for the members of the winning team in this game. According to the NFL postseason media guide, each player will receive $97,000, an increase of $5,000 over last year’s winner’s share.

Each member of the losing team will receive $49,000 – an increase of $3,000 from last year – as the NFL will contribute over $6 million in cash prizes.

That’s a long way from what the shares were at the beginning. For the first 11 Super Bowls, the winning share was $15,000 and the losing share was $7,500.

LOOKING AHEAD: Next year’s Super Bowl will be held Feb. 7 at Levi Stadium. San Francisco is the host city.

Then it moves to Houston in 2017 for a Feb. 5 game at NGR Stadium.

THERE HAVE been 16 father-son combinations to play in the Super Bowl, two with Patriots ties.

Matthew Slater, New England’s special teams ace, appeared in Super Bowl XLVI when the Patriots lost to the New York Giants 21-17. His father, Hall of Fame tackle Jackie Slater, appeared in Super Bowl XIV for the Los Angeles Rams, who lost to Pittsburgh, 31-19.

The other Patriots combo? Popular fullback Mosi Tatupu (46-10 loss to the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XX) and Seattle linebacker Lofa Tatupu (21-10 loss to Pittsburgh). Lofa, if you recall, spent a year at the University of Maine before transferring to USC.

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