Aside from a solid halftime show by Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers and a few pretty comical commercials, there wasn’t much to see in Super Bowl XLVIII. The game started off with the Broncos absorbing a safety at their own hands, and the game never got any better for Denver and the league’s best offense.
To the Seahawks’ credit, they played a mistake free game. Seattle didn’t give up big plays, and they capitalized on Denver’s multitude of mistakes. Still, the blowout loss is purely on the hands of the Denver Broncos and their inability to show up for the team’s biggest game in over a decade.
You’ll hear a lot about how Peyton Manning choked on the big stage again, and while he wasn’t blameless in the Broncos’ collapse, it was a team effort that sunk Denver.
The collapse is one of those rare instances in the playoffs that had no single cause. The Broncos couldn’t tackle, they couldn’t cover, they gave up a game-breaking kickoff return for a touchdown at the onset of the second half, and whenever they started to get something going on offense, a fumble or interception would quickly end the drive.
Russell Wilson will continue to garner criticism as being a “game manager,” but the simple fact is that the Seahawks don’t need a top level passer. Wilson stretches the field with his legs, and in the passing game, he’s adequate more often than not.
For those of you wondering, the 43 to 8 final score is not the widest margin of victory in Super Bowl history. The 49ers’ 55 to 10 win over none other than the Broncos ranks as the record for the biggest Super Bowl victory.
With the win, the Seahawks were able to stake a claim to their first Super Bowl victory as a franchise in style. Scarier still, the Seahawks are a young team that will be hoping to repeat their success again next season.
