The Seattle Seahawks faced off the Denver Broncos on Super Bowl Sunday in what was supposed to be a close game in which the number-1 ranked offense of the Broncos faced the number-1 ranked defense of the Seahawks. However, the result was much different from that – a 43-8 blowout in favor of Seattle.
For the casual fan this game was boring because they came in with the expectation that it was going to be a game for the ages, but it wasn’t. But for the rest of us, we saw a young team in Seattle take on arguably the best offense in NFL history and limit them to just eight total points.
Russell Wilson led a team to the Super Bowl in just his second year, and though his stats: 206 yards and 2 touchdowns don’t jump off the box score, his ball control does. Wilson didn’t throw one interception the entire game and it wasn’t a shock because of his history of being so cautious.
Which individual was this game impacting the most legacy-wise? Easy– it’s Peyton Manning. Here is a QB who just put up, statistically, the best regular season ever but would need a Super Bowl victory to have his Broncos avoid a failure. Manning needed this Super Bowl to be considered, arguably, the greatest QB of all time. But with only one Super Bowl victory against the Bears and already losing one to the Saints, he came into the game on a short rope.
Manning did not do any favors to himself with this performance, which was one of the biggest games of his career and just using the eye test, he had a sub-par performance. And why am I using the “eye test”? Because his stats weren’t terrible – he posted 280 yards, and a touchdown. Not Peyton Manning-type stats but good stats. The big problem in contrast to Wilson was keeping the ball. The Broncos total offense had 5 turnovers, 3 of those turnovers were Manning’s and were costly.
Wilson and his offense were only a small part of what was really a total team effort, and I’m not just saying that. You hear it all the time, but this is the first Super Bowl where there was actually suspense in who was receiving the MVP.
Would it be Wilson because he’s the QB? Would it be Kam Chancellor with his big hits and interception? Or would it be Percy Harvin who played his first full game of the season and had an 87-yard touchdown return to start off the second half? No for all three, it was Linebacker Malcom Smith who came into the year as a backup and not only had a 69-yard interception for a touchdown, but also may have sealed the game with a fumble recovery.
In reality, the whole Seattle defense should have won an MVP award because there were so many players that had a big impact on the game. If a whole unit getting an MVP is too unrealistic than at the very least the Seahawks should have had Co-MVP’s. Broncos’ receivers Wes Welker and Demaryius Thomas looked scared to go down the middle because every time they did they got blasted.
Overall, the Seahawks won a Super Bowl that was as one side as it gets. Towards the end of the game the only excitement was whether or not their defense would get a shutout. Seattle isn’t done yet and should be looking forward to building on assets like Percy Harvin that they didn’t have all year and a defense that rivals the ’85 Bears.
