NFL PLAYOFFS
Participants decided for 2014 Super Bowl.
Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos will face the best defence they’ve met all season when they play Richard Sherman’s Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl.
It will be a matchup between the NFL’s No. 1 offence, led by Manning, against the NFL’s No. 1 “D,” led by Sherman, when the AFC’s Broncos (15-3) take on the NFC’s Seahawks (15-3) on Feb. 2 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
No upstarts here: Providing quite a cap to the season, this marks only the second time in the last 20 Super Bowls with the No. 1 seeds from both conferences.
The Broncos will be trying to win their third Super Bowl title, after 1998 and 1999. The Seahawks are eyeing their first championship.
Seattle’s top-ranked defence forced three fourthquarter turnovers and Russell Wilson threw a 35-yard touchdown pass on fourth down for the winning points in a 23-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC title Sunday.
Moments after Richard Sherman tipped Colin Kaepernick’s pass to teammate Malcolm Smith for the clinching interception, the All-Pro cornerback jumped into the stands behind the end zone, saluting the Seahawks’ raucous fans. With 12th Man flags waving everywhere, and “New York, New York” blaring over the loudspeakers, CenturyLink Field rocked like never before.
“That’s as sweet as it gets,” Sherman said.
San Francisco (14-5) led 1713 when Wilson, given a free play as Aldon Smith jumped offside, hurled the ball to Jermaine Kearse, who made a leaping catch in the end zone over Carlos Rogers.
Steven Hauschka then kicked his third field goal and Smith intercepted in the end zone on the 49ers’ final possession.
“This feels even sweeter, with the amazing support we have had from the 12th Man,” team owner Paul Allen said, comparing this Super Bowl trip to the previous one.
In Denver, Manning had an answer for everyone Sunday — from Tom Brady to the New England defence to anyone who thought he couldn’t win the big one.
Manning is taking the Broncos to New York after another of his impeccably crafted victories — this time, a 26-16 win over the Patriots.
“Being in my 16th season, going to my third Super Bowl, I know how hard it is to get there,” Manning said. Especially this time. He’s less than three years removed from being unable to throw a football because of his surgically ravaged neck and nerve endings, and a bit over a year has passed since a devastating loss to Baltimore derailed what looked like a Super Bowl trip in his comeback season.
A year later, however, Manning will get his chance for his second Super Bowl ring.
“He’s been remarkable,” said Broncos coach John Fox, off to his second Super Bowl as a head coach. “It’s unprecedented what he did.”
After packing away his football, Manning ran to the 30-yard line to shake hands with Brady. A bit later in the locker-room, he celebrated with his father, Archie, and brothers Cooper and Eli, the Giants quarterback who surprised Peyton much the way Peyton surprised him by showing up at the NFC title game two years ago.
The Indy-turned-Denver quarterback improved to 5-10 lifetime against Brady, but is now 2-1 in AFC title games.