Seahawks whip Broncos to pull off Super Bowl upset.
Seattle defence dominant in 43-8 win for first Bowl title
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Seattle Seahawks’ mantra all season was to make each day a championship day.
They made Super Bowl Sunday the best day of all with one of the greatest performances in an NFL title game — sparked by a defence that ranks among the best ever.
The Seahawks won their first Super Bowl crown in overpowering fashion, punishing Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos 43-8. That masterful defence, the NFL’s stingiest, never let the five-time MVP get going, disarming the highestscoring offence in league history.
Seattle (16-3) was too quick, too physical and just too good for Denver, and that was true in all areas. What was hyped as a classic matchup between an unstoppable offence and a miserly defence turned into a rout.
“We been relentless all season,” quarterback Russell Wilson said. “Having that mentality of having a championship day every day. At the end of the day, you want to play your best football and that is what we did today.”
Punctuating Seattle’s dominance were a 69-yard interception return touchdown by linebacker Malcolm Smith to make it 22-0, and Percy Harvin’s sensational 87-yard kickoff runback to open the second half.
Smith was the game’s MVP, the first defender in 11 years to win the award.
When the Seahawks, up by 29 points, forced a Denver punt early in the third quarter, the 12th Man — and there were legions of them in MetLife Stadium — began chanting “L-O-B, L-O-B.”
As in Legion of Boom, the Seahawks hard-hitting secondary, part of young team with an average age of 26 years, 138 days.
“This is an amazing team. Took us four years to get to this point but they never have taken a step sideways,” coach Pete Carroll said. “These guys would not take anything but winning this ball game.”
The loss by the Broncos again raised questions about Manning’s ability to win the biggest games. He is 11-12 in the post-season, 1-2 in Super Bowls. After the game, he brushed off questions about his legacy.
“Certainly to finish this way is very disappointing,” he said.
He never looked comfortable against a defence some will begin comparing to the 1985 Bears and 2000 Ravens —other NFL champions who had runaway Super Bowl victories.
Seattle forced four turnovers; Denver had 26 all season.
The Seahawks looked comfortable and at ease, and not just their defence, which lost All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman to a high ankle sprain in the fourth quarter. He celebrated on crutches.
“I hope we etched our names in the history books,” Sherman said.
Wilson, who has an NFLrecord 28 wins in his first two pro seasons, including playoffs, had a 23-yard TD pass to Jermaine Kearse late in the third quarter to make it 36-0.
Wilson also hit Doug Baldwin for a 10-yard score in the final period in what had become one of the most lopsided Super Bowls. For the fifth time in six meetings between the NFL’s No. 1 offence and defence, the D dominated.
“It’s all about making history,” All-Pro safety Earl Thomas said. “This was a dominant performance from top to bottom.”
Denver fell to 2-5 in Super Bowls, and by the end many of Manning’s passes resembled the “ducks” Sherman said the All-Pro quarterback sometimes threw.
No Super Bowl had been played outdoors in a coldweather city before — not that the Big Apple was anything close to frozen Sunday, with a 9 C temperature at kickoff.