The NFL Fieldhouse: Super Bowl XLVIII Recap

In what has to be one of the most underwhelming, disappointing, and anticlimactic Super Bowls in recent history, the Seattle Seahawks completely decimated the Denver Broncos by a score of 43-8.  And no, that is not a typo.  Over the course of four quarters, every single sports analyst–yes, yours truly included–who had spent all of the last two weeks crowing about how Denver’s top-ranked offense would greatly outduel the Seahawks’ supposedly anemic attack was completely and unceremoniously silenced, as Seattle amassed 341 yards on the Broncos’ ineffective defense.  Meanwhile, the Broncos struggled to get anything going all night, as their normally unstoppable offense had quite a bit of trouble keeping the ball; they turned the ball over four times in total, including several more near misses that were ultimately overturned on replay.  Peyton Manning may have been named the season MVP, but he was in no such form on Sunday: despite racking up 280 yards through the air, he tossed two picks–one of which was returned for a touchdown that more or less cemented the game’s result early on–and helped the team gain only 4.8 yards per play on average.  That’s inexcusable for a team like the Broncos, who pride themselves on moving up and down the field with nigh impunity, especially when you consider that they ran more plays than Seattle did.

First Impressions

After Trindon Holliday tried to make a big play on the opening kickoff but was wrapped up short of the 15, Peyton Manning and the Broncos offense stepped onto the field, presumably to begin what was bound to be one of the most impressive opening drives in Super Bowl history.  What happened next certainly was impressive, but probably not in the way Denver intended.

Question: What’s the best way to begin a Super Bowl when everyone expects you to completely shred the opposing defense?  The answer: Immediately spot them two points and possession right off the bat.

When Broncos center Manny Ramirez (no, not THAT Manny Ramirez) saw Manning step forward to deliver some sort of pre-snap signal (which, as we know, is something Manning NEVER does), Ramirez apparently took the motion as an invitation to snap the ball.  Which he promptly did–right over the off-guard Manning’s head and into the end zone.  Knowshon Moreno was able to scoop it up before it reached the end line, but it turned out to be a moot point, as he was promptly tackled for a safety, making Super Bowl XLVIII the third consecutive SB to include a safety.  Even more historic, however, was the fact that it was the fastest score in Super Bowl history, requiring a total of twelve seconds of game time between the ill-fated kickoff return and the safety.

In short: Manny Ramirez basically ensured that this Super Bowl will be etched in the record books for some time to come.  But it only got worse from there.

Pick Six

In the second quarter of the game, a Peyton Manning pass floated well away from its intended receiver, instead ending up in the lap of Seattle linebacker Malcolm Smith. Smith had recorded three interceptions on the season to that point including the playoffs, one of which was returned for a touchdown.  Even that, however, was only a 37-yard return–against the Rams, no less.

But this one was far more important, and as a result was far more spectacular.  After picking it off at the Seattle 31, Smith tucked the ball in and legged it all the way back to the end zone–a 69-yard return that put the Seahawks up 22-0 before halftime.

It was clear that the pass’s delivery was affected–replays showed that a Seahawk lineman has restricted Manning’s arm as the ball was released, resulting in a wobbly pass–but the fact remains that this single play wholly encapsulated how fully the Seahawks dominated the Broncos on the night, and it was the main reason Smith received the game’s MVP honors.

Lucky Number Twelve?

As if that weren’t enough, what happened right after halftime just further piled on the embarrassment the Broncos must surely have been feeling by this point.  Percy Harvin, who had missed most of the season with an injury, made a comeback in the most spectacular way possible: he returned the second-half kickoff for a touchdown, the sixth time in his career he’s taken a kick back all the way.

I know a lot of you probably won’t appreciate a personal anecdote here (or anyplace, really), but there’s kind of a funny story for this moment. I was watching the game at my campus’ Baptist Collegiate Ministry Super Bowl Party (which, if you’re reading this from campus, is definitely an awesome place, by the way), and as I sat back down for the second half in between trips to the buffet, I thought to myself something along the lines of: “Wouldn’t it be funny if Seattle brought the kickoff all the way back for a touchdown?”  Twelve seconds later (and no, that’s not an estimation, that’s the actual amount of time it took; eerie, isn’t it?), I, like most of the others, sat in stunned yet amused silence.  I then thought: “Wouldn’t it be funny if my blog were suddenly the most popular site on the Internet?”

As you can probably imagine, I was one for two on my predictions that night.  But that’s about on par with my usual record, so I can’t complain.

In any event, the kick return was more or less the clincher, the single score that more or less guaranteed a Seahawk victory.  The Broncos would finally score at the end of the third quarter on a touchdown pass to Demariyus Thomas, but by that point the game was out of reach, and the Seahawks returned the favor at the start of the fourth anyway.  The outcome was never in doubt.

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So that wraps up the 2013-14 NFL season, but The NFL Fieldhouse is just getting warmed up. There’s plenty of offseason occurrences to cover, and every Saturday (starting next week because I’m a bit lazy, as my irregular schedule probably shows) I’ll be posting weekly updates on what’s new around the league.  I’ll also occasionally be throwing out some random features, whether on the latest big signing or story, or simply just to rant about something that’s caught my attention.  In fact, on Thursday I’ll be posting my take on this year’s best Super Bowl commercials.  So thanks for a great season, and tune in on Thursday for the first offseason post from the The NFL Fieldhouse!