Super Bowl XLVIII, 2014: Seattle 43 Denver 8

Super Bowl XLVIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2013 season. The Seahawks defeated the Broncos 43–8, the largest margin of victory for an underdog and tied for the third largest point differential overall (35) in Super Bowl history with Super Bowl XXVII (1993).[10][11] It was the first time the winning team scored over 40 points while holding their opponent to under 10. This became the first Super Bowl victory for the Seahawks and the fifth Super Bowl loss for the Broncos, at the time a league record (it would later be tied by the New England Patriots following their Super Bowl LII loss) for the most of any team. The game was played on February 2, 2014, at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the first Super Bowl played outdoors in a cold-weather city and the first Super Bowl to be played on February 2.

The Seahawks posted a 13–3 record and were making their second Super Bowl appearance in nine years. The Broncos were making their seventh Super Bowl appearance after also posting a 13–3 record. This marked one of the few times that two former divisional rivals met in a Super Bowl, as the Seahawks and Broncos were in the same division (the AFC West) from 1977 to 2001.

Seattle led 22–0 at halftime and ultimately went up 36–0 before allowing Denver's first and only score on the final play of the third quarter. The 36–0 lead was by far the largest shutout lead in Super Bowl history; the previous record was 24–0, shared by the Miami Dolphins over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl VIII and the Washington Redskins over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVI. Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril scored a safety on the first play from scrimmage. They became the first team in a Super Bowl to score on a safety (12 seconds into the start of the game which set the record for the quickest score), a kickoff return for a touchdown (12 seconds into the second half), and an interception return for a touchdown. The Broncos were held to almost 30 points below their scoring average. Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, a five-time NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winner, threw two interceptions in the first half. Seahawks linebacker Malcolm Smith, who returned one of those interceptions 69 yards for a touchdown, recovered a fumble and made nine tackles, was named Super Bowl MVP.

In the United States, the game was televised by Fox; with an average audience of 111.5 million viewers that peaked at 115.3 million during the halftime show featuring Bruno Mars, the game was briefly the most-watched U.S. television broadcast of all time, until it was surpassed by Super Bowl XLIX the following year. The game's inaugural Spanish-language telecast on Fox Deportes was also the highest-rated Spanish-language cable telecast outside of soccer. Seattle also tied the 1992 Dallas Cowboys for the third-largest blowout in Super Bowl history, behind Super Bowl XXIV in 1990, a 55–10 San Francisco 49ers victory over the Denver Broncos, and Super Bowl XX in 1986, a 46–10 Chicago Bears victory over the New England Patriots. This was also the first time since 1991 that the #1 scoring offense (Broncos) went up against the #1 scoring defense (Seahawks).

Because the game was one-sided from start to finish, Super Bowl XLVIII is widely regarded as one of the worst and most disappointing Super Bowls of all time, although it is also viewed as a crowning achievement of the Seahawks’ 2013 defense.

Game summary
The game kicked off at 6:32 p.m. EST (UTC−05:00).

First half
On Denver's first play after receiving the opening kickoff, center Manny Ramirez snapped the ball while quarterback Peyton Manning was shifting forward (from shotgun formation) in the process of calling an audible, resulting in the ball going past Manning into the end zone. Running back Knowshon Moreno recovered the ball to prevent a Seahawks touchdown, but he was downed for a safety to give the Seahawks a 2–0 lead. Seattle's score just 12 seconds into the game was the quickest to start a game in Super Bowl history, surpassing the kickoff return by Devin Hester to start Super Bowl XLI seven years earlier. Following the free kick, receiver Percy Harvin gained 30 yards on an end around run to set up Stephen Hauschka's 31-yard field goal, making the score 5–0. Denver was forced to a three-and-out on their next drive, and after the Denver punt, Russell Wilson completed a 37-yard pass to Doug Baldwin, leading to another Hauschka field goal, this one from 33 yards, that increased the lead to 8–0. On the third play of Denver's ensuing possession, Manning was intercepted by Kam Chancellor, giving Seattle a first down on the Denver 37.

Aided by a 15-yard run from Harvin on the first play, Seattle quickly got the ball into the red zone. The Broncos defense eventually managed to force an incomplete pass on third down, but defensive back Tony Carter was flagged for pass interference in the end zone, giving Seattle a first down at the one-yard line. One play later, running back Marshawn Lynch crashed into the end zone, hitting the line so effectively that he ended the play on his feet, scoring a 1-yard touchdown run that made the score 15–0 three minutes into the second quarter.

At this point, the Broncos offense finally managed to get moving, picking up a first down for the first time in the game at 10:37 and moving the ball to the Seattle 35-yard line. But on third-and-13, Manning was hit by Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril as he tried to throw a pass to Moreno, causing a high short floater that was intercepted by linebacker Malcolm Smith and returned 69 yards for a touchdown. After Seattle's kickoff, Denver mounted a drive to the Seahawks' 19-yard line, aided by Demaryius Thomas's 19-yard reception on third-and-5. With just over a minute left in the half, Denver faced fourth-and-2. Rather than kick a field goal, they tried to pick up a first down, but Manning's pass was incomplete and the score remained 22–0 at the end of the half. The 22-point deficit was the largest faced by the Broncos all season. It was also the third-largest halftime deficit in Super Bowl history; the previous two were also against the Broncos – the Redskins led the Broncos 35–10 in Super Bowl XXII and the 49ers led the Broncos 27–3 in Super Bowl XXIV. Seattle's 22-0 shutout lead at the half also broke the previous record of 20-0 set by the 49ers in the Super Bowl XVI.

Second half
In order to avoid a big kickoff return, Matt Prater kicked the second half kickoff short, hitting the ground at the Seattle 12-yard line. But it did not stop Harvin from picking the ball out of the air and taking off for an 87-yard touchdown return that increased Seattle's lead to 29–0. The touchdown took place 12 seconds into the second half, exactly the same amount of time that the Seahawks took to score the safety in the first half. It was also the first time that consecutive Super Bowls had kickoff returns for touchdowns (Jacoby Jones' return in Super Bowl XLVII being the previous one, which was also the second half opening kickoff). After an exchange of punts, Eric Decker gave Denver good field position with a 9-yard return to the Denver 45. Two plays later, Manning completed a 23-yard pass to Demaryius Thomas, but cornerback Byron Maxwell knocked the ball out of his hands and Malcolm Smith recovered it, returning the ball seven yards. An unnecessary roughness penalty against Denver added 15 more yards onto the end of the play, giving Seattle the ball at the Denver 42-yard line. Two plays later, Russell Wilson hit tight end Luke Willson for a 12-yard completion on third-and-7 and later completed a 19-yard pass to Ricardo Lockette. On the next play, he threw a short pass to Jermaine Kearse, who broke four tackles as he took off for a 23-yard touchdown reception bringing the score to 36–0.

Denver finally managed to respond on their next drive, advancing the ball 80 yards as Manning completed six consecutive passes, including a 22-yard completion to Wes Welker, and finished the drive with a 14-yard touchdown toss to Demaryius Thomas on the last play of the third quarter. Welker then caught another pass for a successful two-point conversion, cutting the score to 36–8.

However, any momentum Denver might have gained was quickly snuffed out as Seattle tight end Zach Miller recovered Prater's onside kick attempt on his own 48-yard line. He also caught a 10-yard reception as the Seahawks subsequently drove 52 yards, featuring a 24-yard reception by Kearse, and scored on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Baldwin that increased their lead to 43–8. There were more than 11 minutes left in the game, but this turned out to be the final score, as Denver's last three drives resulted in a turnover on downs, a Manning fumble that was forced and recovered by Seattle defensive end Chris Clemons (the only sack of the game for either team), and time expiring in the game.

Game statistics and notes
Wilson finished the game 18/25 for 206 yards and two touchdowns. Baldwin was his top receiver with five catches for 66 yards and a score, while Kearse added four catches for 65 and a touchdown. In addition to his 87-yard kickoff return touchdown, Harvin was Seattle's leading rusher with 45 yards, even though he only carried the ball twice. Chancellor had nine tackles and an interception. Manning completed 34/49 passes for 280 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions. His top target was Demaryius Thomas, who caught 13 passes (a Super Bowl record) for 118 yards and a touchdown. Welker added eight receptions for 84 yards. Linebacker Danny Trevathan had 12 tackles. Moreno was Denver's leading rusher, but with just 17 yards. Overall, Denver's record setting offense gained only 306 yards, with just 27 yards on the ground.

Seahawks' linebacker Malcolm Smith received the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award. Denver fell to 2–5 in Super Bowls, while five-time league MVP Manning dropped to 11–12 in the playoffs and 1–2 in the Super Bowl. Including Denver's loss, none of the eight highest-scoring teams in league history won a Super Bowl in the same season and all four teams who entered the championship with the league's leading passer lost the game. Manning's 34 completions and Demaryius Thomas' 13 receptions were both Super Bowl records.

With touchdowns scored on offense, defense and special teams, the Seahawks became the first team since the Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV to do so. Teams with an interception return for a touchdown also stayed perfect, improving to 12–0 in Super Bowls. As a result of scoring their safety 12 seconds into the game and subsequently never relinquishing the lead for the rest of the game, the Seahawks set a Super Bowl record for holding a lead continuously for the longest time (59:48). Denver became only the second team in the past 30 years to score fewer than 10 points during the course of the game.

This was the first time that any NFL game ended with a 43–8 final score, a phenomenon known as scorigami. It is one of three Super Bowls, alongside XXI and XXIV, coincidentally involving the Broncos, where such a phenomenon has occurred.

Following on from his two national championships at USC, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll became just the third coach to win both an NCAA Division 1-A/FBS national championship and a Super Bowl after Jimmy Johnson (Miami and Dallas) and Barry Switzer (Oklahoma and Dallas).

Wikipedia