Seahawks in the Super Bowl, part two: (r)ode to joy
Seahawks begin their annihilation of the Broncos
The Seahawks opponent in Super Bowl XLVIII (please, it’s 48) would be the Denver Broncos. Even more so than when they faced the Steelers in Super Bowl XL, their opponent was a mirror image. Seattle had a good offense; Denver had a great one. Led by Peyton Manning, the Broncos had rolled up the ridiculous sum of 606 points, the all-time NFL record. That’s almost 38 points per game. They were only held under 30 points three times, and never less than 20. Denver scored over 40 six times, three of those over 50.
Manning made it all happen. Going into the title game, he had thrown for 6,309 career yards in the postseason alone. He’d thrown 36 touchdowns in the playoffs in his career. He was coming off the second-best, if not the best, season of his Hall of Fame career. Manning threw for 5,477 yards, 55 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions in 2013. On top of that, he had been sacked just 18 times. One thing he couldn’t do though is run. He lost 31 yards on 32 carries. That’s a lot of victory formations there, dropping to a knee and watching the clock roll up another win.
That’s also something Manning wouldn’t do in this Super Bowl. The Seahawks defense set the tone on the very first play of the game. Denver’s snap sailed over Manning’s head, and Cliff Avril tagged Knowshon Moreno in the end zone for a safety. Seattle returned the ensuing punt for 20 yards and eventually settled for a Steven Hauschka field goal. Less than five minutes into the game and the Seahawks were up 5-0. They wouldn’t be able to keep up that point a minute pace, but they came much closer than anyone expected.
The Broncos couldn’t do anything on their next drive and were forced to punt. Seattle mounted a six-minute drive, but had to settle for another field goal. 8-0, Seattle. Manning tried to force the ball into coverage and Kam Chancellor made him pay with his second interception of the postseason. Seattle had the ball on Denver’s 37-yard line and made them pay after a seven play drive with a one-yard Marshawn Lynch touchdown. After the extra point, it was 15-0 Seattle.
The Broncos finally mounted a drive of their own. Manning dinked and dunked his way downfield, finally getting into Seattle territory with just over seven minutes left in the half. Personally, I think this was just a cruel joke perpetrated by Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. On the 15th play of the drive, Manning threw into the flat for Moreno.
Sadly for the guys with ponies on their helmets, Malcolm Smith is the guy who caught the ball after Cliff Avril got a piece of Manning’s arm. Smith didn’t stop until 69 yards and six points later. With a little over three minutes left in the half, it was now 22-0 Seahawks. Again, Denver managed to move the ball, this time all the way to Seattle’s 19-yard line. A short pass to Demaryius Thomas was broken up by Chris Clemons, and the Hawks ran out the clock.