Someone call the mechanic, Denver’s offensive machine is broken.
The Super Bowl—“The Big Game”, that all kids dream of, and every player and coach in the NFL strives for. In the end, the champions are always those who want it more, and in this game the League of Boom obviously wanted this win, shutting down Peyton Manning’s offensive machine with hard hits and big plays.
With a missed snap early in the first quarter resulting in a safety for the Seahawks, the pace seemed set for the rest of the game. Pressured throughout the night, the Seahawks defense never let the offensive machine of the Broncos get to work, shutting down runs and blocking passes until the final whistle.
On the offensive side QB Russell Wilson led the offense to 43 points through 341 yards, 206 through the air, 135 on the ground. Wilson completed passes to 9 receivers, with Baldwin and Kearse each breaking 60 yards for a touchdown a piece. In terms of rushing the Seahawks ground game ran for 135 yards with Percy Harvin and Marshawn Lynch breaking 35 yards each.
Leading the defense for Seattle was MVP linebacker Malcolm Smith with an interception returned for a touchdown, a fumble recovery, and 10 tackles. Surprisingly, captain Richard Sherman was taken out of the game after the third quarter due to a high ankle sprain. However, the loss of the defensive leader did little to slow down the unstoppable defense.
On the Denver side of the ball, early in the first quarter they narrowly avoided losing a fumble for a touchdown, jumping on the ball to secure a safety instead. This seemingly set the pace for the rest of the game, with Denver only racking up 8 points (through a touchdown and two point conversion) and 280 yards.
Despite the fact that the Broncos offensive machine couldn’t get their gears in motion, Manning still managed to complete a record-setting 34 out of 49 attempted passes, in comparison to Wilsons 18 for 25.
The Legion of Boom managed to keep the Broncos offensive machine from kicking into gear, but even the Super Bowl champs couldn’t keep Manning from setting yet another record. In the end though, it’s the points that matter and Seattle won 43-8.