EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Defense wins championships, and the NFL has not seen a defense like Seattle’s in a long time.
The Seahawks won their first Super Bowl title Sunday night in overpowering fashion, punishing Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos 43-8. That relentless defense, the NFL’s stingiest, never let the five-time MVP get going, disarming the highest-scoring offense 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 matchup between an unstoppable offense and a miserly defense turned into a rout.
Punctuating Seattle’s dominance were a 69-yard interception return touchdown by linebacker Malcolm Smith to make it 22-0, and Percy Harvin’s 87-yard kickoff runback to open the second half.
Smith was the game’s MVP.
When the Seahawks, up by 29 points, forced a Denver punt early in the third quarter, the 12th Man - and they were well represented 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 tothis point but they never have taken a step sideways,” Coach Pete Carroll said. “These guys would not take anything but winning this ballgame.”
The Broncos’ loss again raised questions about Manning’s ability to win the biggest games. He is 11-12 in the postseason, 1-2 in Super Bowls. He never looked comfortable against a defense 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 defense, which lost All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman to a high ankle sprain in the fourth quarter.
Russell Wilson, who has an NFL-record 28 victories 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 offense and defense, the D dominated.
“We been relentless all season,” 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.”
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.
The victory was particularly sweet for Carroll, who was fired in 1994 by the Jets, led the Patriots for three seasons and again was canned. After a short stint out of coaching, he took over at Southern California and won two national titles.
But he always felt there was unfinished business in the NFL. Carroll finished that business by lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy, four years after taking charge in Seattle and eight years after the Seahawks lost in their only previous Super Bowl to Pittsburgh.
No Super Bowl had been played outdoors in a cold-weather city before - not that the Big Apple was anything close to frozen Sunday, with a 49-degree temperature at kickoff. And no Super Bowl has started more bizarrely.
Things went sour for Manning and the Broncos from the very first scrimmage play, and by halftime they were down 22-0 - their biggest deficit of the season and the only time they didn’t score in a half.
On that first play for the Broncos, Manning stepped up toward the line just as center Manny Ramirez snapped the ball. It flew past his incredulous quarterback into the end zone, where Knowshon Moreno dived on it for a safety.
A mere 12 seconds in, Seattle led 2-0 with the quickest score in Super Bowl history, beating Chicago’s Devin Hester’s kickoff return to open the 2007 game - against Manning’s Colts.
That one ended much better for Manning as Indianapolis won the championship. This one was a fiasco throughout.
Steven Hauschka, who made 38 of 40 field goals entering the game, made a 31-yarder for 5-0 and a 33-yarder for 8-0 after Doug Baldwin toasted 15-year veteran cornerback Champ Bailey, in his first Super Bowl, for 37 yards on third down.
Then the Seahawks began scoring touchdowns.
Manning’s third-down pass to Julius Thomas sailed way too high and directly to safety Kam Chancellor, giving the Seahawks the ball at Denver’s 37. Harvin, finally healthy after a virtually wasted first season in Seattle, sparked the short drive with a 15-yard burst, and a thirddown pass interference call on Tony Carter gave Seattle the ball at the 1.
Marshawn Lynch scored to make it 15-0.
Biggest blowouts
Seattle’s 43-8 drubbing of Denver on Sunday in Super Bowl XLVIII ties for the third-largest victory margin in the game’s 48-year history and the largest margin in 21 years.
YEAR FINAL SCORE MARGIN 1990 49ers 55, Broncos 10 45 1986 Bears 46, Patriots 10 36 2014 Seahawks 43, Broncos 8 35 1993 Cowboys 52, Bills 17 35 1988 Redskins 42, Broncos 10 32 1984 Raiders 38, Redskins 9 29 2003 Buccaneers 48, Raiders 21 27 2001 Ravens 34, N.Y. Giants 7 27 1967 Packers 35, Chiefs 10 25 1995 49ers 49, Chargers 26 23 SOURCE Democrat-Gazette Press Services
Game sketch STARS Seattle LB Malcolm Smith returned an interception 69 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter and recovered a third quarter fumble. Seattle WR Percy Harvin returned the opening kickoff of the third quarter 87 yards for a touchdown to put the Seahawks up 29-0.
TURNING POINT A Shotgun snap went to the right of Denver quarterback Peyton Manning and running back Knowshon Moreno fell on it in the end zone for a safety 12 seconds into the game.
KEY STAT Denver committed four turnovers - Manning threw two interceptions and the Broncos lost two fumbles - leading to 26 Seattle points.
Sports, Pages 13 on 02/03/2014