CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The modest two-story house sits on a narrow, winding street on the outskirts of town. There's a large sofa, an ottoman and an oversized flat-screen TV in the family room, and the living room is being used as a dining room, with chairs on each side of the square table.
The home belongs to former Packers wide receiver Jarrett Boykin, but it's also a place where, last offseason, Brandon Bostick escaped the deafening noise that followed his failure to recover an onside kick in January's NFC Championship Game in Seattle.
The Packers led by five with just over two minutes to play in regulation and needed only to recover the onside kick to solidify their grip on a berth in Super Bowl XLIX. However, the ball -- and the victory -- slipped through Bostick's hands, allowing the Seahawks to rally for an eventual 28-22 victory in overtime.
"I don't even know how to describe what I felt like," Bostick said in July. "I don't know if you can describe what it is to feel like nothing, like you're worthless. There are no words I can put toward the feeling."
Sunday night in Green Bay, the Packers and Seahawks will face off for the first time since that game. And while Bostick won't be there -- he was waived three weeks after the defeat -- his role in the loss will be sliced and diced and placed on a platter for public consumption.
He's OK with that now. Time has provided him with perspective and emotional relief, things he lacked in the immediate aftermath of the game. Back then, he fluctuated between being depressed and being numb. It was the first time on any level that his fingerprints had been indelibly stamped on a defeat.
The pain shadowed him wherever he went. It crept into his dreams and occupied his consciousness. He was wise enough to avoid social media, where some people directed death threats at him, and for weeks he refused to watch replays of the muff.
To this day he has watched the play only twice in its entirety -- once after being claimed off waivers by the Vikings, and once on a July morning in Boykin's home.
"I thought we had it, you know?" he says of the game. "Everyone relaxed a little bit, Everyone's like, 'Oh, we've got this game.' They couldn't do anything!"
Only three of the Seahawks' first 12 possessions lasted more than three plays, and five ended with turnovers. On defense, Seattle surrendered points on five of its first 10 series, including four straight in the first half.
Even after the Seahawks closed to within five points with 2:09 to go in regulation, there was no sense of dread along the Green Bay sideline. One of the coaches gathered the hands team and calmly reminded each player of his responsibilities.
You block this guy. You block this guy. Brandon, you block this guy and let Jordy Nelson catch the ball.
Bostick, a reserve tight end, took his spot on the left side of the formation. He picked out a player to block and waited for Steven Hauschka to attempt the onside kick. The ball bounced high in the air and headed directly at Bostick.
"At first I was like, 'I see the ball. Yeah, I got it,'" Bostick says. "Then, in between, I was like, 'No, this isn't the right thing to do at the time.' I was kind of torn ... in between. I think I went up, touched the ball, and I was like, ugh! I was kind of in no-man's-land. The last thing I remember is just being on my knees and everyone yelling and screaming."
Seattle quickly converted the recovery into a 24-yard touchdown run by Marshawn Lynch, then won in overtime on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Jermaine Kearse. The crowd in CenturyLink Field roared in ecstasy, but the only voice Bostick could hear was his own, and it kept reminding him about the consequences of his actions.
"I never, ever felt that pain before," Bostick says, "just realizing how close we were to playing in the Super Bowl, what could have happened. I was focused on my teammates, you know, people who really worked hard to get to that point. I felt like I let them down. Next, I felt like I let down my coaches, and then the organization, and my family, of course. ...
"I handled it the best way I could. It took me a while to get over it, you know, but I got over it. Well, I mean, I'm not -- I don't want to say I'm over it, but I just got over it. I just moved on, just, just put that behind me."
"I never, ever felt that pain before, just realizing how close we were to playing in the Super Bowl, what could have happened." Bostick, on the aftermath of the NFC Championship Game
His agent, Blake Baratz, helped him take his first steps forward. He also was aided by Earnest Byner, the former running back whose fumble in the final minutes of the AFC Championship Game in January 1988 cost the Browns a chance to advance to the Super Bowl. The two communicated regularly that first week, with Byner offering motivational support.
But Bostick soon realized the importance of standing on his own. He decided he would no longer discuss the play, although he made an exception for ESPN in July. He chuckles about people who come after him on social media, contending that the play and people's reactions have taught him to never take anything for granted.
It's why he didn't overreact when the Packers waived him or when the Vikings released him in training camp. He's now on the Cardinals' practice squad, working to earn a shot at returning to the field and lining up on the hands team.
"I can't wait for that moment to come," he says. "When I got to Minnesota, I was like, 'Coach, I want to actually see the full replay,' so he put it up on the screen and we went through it. I watched it over and over. I just wanted to see it, so I could remember that moment so I'd get that feeling -- what I felt that day -- as a reminder that I want to be there again."