Defence on Top Once Again (Super Bowl XLVIII Review)
Football is an interesting game that marries the intellectual aspect of sports with the power and athleticism of sports. Many do not see this all that often as the sport is given a reputation of being a bunch of dumb athletes running into each other. Sometimes this can be true but there is another side of the sport that plenty of players are good at but only a few players have mastered. One of these players is Peyton Manning who is the best QB ever to play this mental side of the game. There has never been another player who knows more about what is going on throughout the game than Manning. This is what he has used to become one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. When coming to the line Peyton Manning more often than not has no play called in the huddle and will call his play at the line. He is regularly handed three plays and can choose whatever play he wants based on what he sees in the defence when he comes to the line or when he makes them show what they are doing. Manning had done this the entire season and for his efforts would lead the best offence in the history of the NFL. They would score more points than any other team in NFL history and would be the most prolific scoring offence in the NFL. It was in large part due to the performance of Peyton Manning who had been able to read every defence in the league and pick apart all of them. As he moved on he would bring the Broncos to the Super Bowl and would get the chance to win his second Super Bowl with his second team in his long illustrious career. As the QB who knows more about the mental side of the game than anyone else prepared for the Super Bowl there was a battle brewing. It was a battle that Peyton Manning had gone through before but had never met a match like he would in the Super Bowl. The battle would be between Peyton Manning and the best secondary in the game including one of the best cornerbacks in the game. The battle looked to be a good one as Peyton Manning would go one on one with the toughest test of the season with the winner of the battle taking home the Lombardi Trophy. Although Manning has been the best in this aspect of the game there is no doubt that the Seattle Seahawks were going to be a tram that could challenge him. With Richard Sherman at the helm the Seattle Seahawks were looking to win their first Super Bowl by confusing Peyton Manning and throwing him off of his game. It was supposed to be a classic matchup as the best defence in the NFL would take on the best offence in the game. More importantly it was a matchup between what could be the greatest offensive mind in the NFL against one of the greatest Defensive minds in the NFL. Richard Sherman and Peyton Manning would look to take the major focus of this game as both would try to win the battle in the aspect of the game that many are not familiar with. The mental side of the game would take focus at Super Bowl XLVIII as two sides of the game fought it out to prove that they had the mental edge in the game and would do so to earn the ultimate prize in football
The game started with this and plenty more stories to watch for as the Super Bowl would once again have plenty to watch for. It was built as a great matchup between an amazing offence and an amazing defence. It was Peyton Manning against the secondary of the Seahawks and the city that had never tasted victory against the team that had seen two Vince Lombardi Trophies added to their trophy case. There was plenty to get excited about before Super bowl XLVIII but the game would not live up to its billing. The tone was set from the second play of the game as the Broncos would get the ball after a lackluster return from Trindon Holliday. As Peyton Manning tried to play his mental game and change the play at the line the Broncos would see the start to a bad day. The snap on the first play from scrimmage would not be in time as Manning went to change the play but instead saw the ball pass by his head. It would go into the endzone and the Seahawks would earn a safety as the first points in the game. The play would set the tone for the entire game as the Denver Broncos were just out of it from the first play until the last. They could not seem to get anything right in the biggest game that most of them had played. For a team that was known as the best offence in the league and possibly in the history of the league they would seem like they did not belong. The team was left without a point in the first half while the Seahawks would continue to put up their own points. It wasn’t that the Seahawks had a great offensive performance but the Broncos would turn the ball over four times with Manning throwing two INTs and Manning and Demaryius Thomas both fumbling the ball. The Broncos offence looked like a team that did not belong on the field with the Seahawks defence. It was a testament to the old saying that “Defence Wins Championships” proving that defence can still dominate offences. Neither offence would have a great game but when the Seahawks are given short fields every time it was not very hard for them to take advantage and take home the Vince Lombardi Trophy. It was a blowout and proof of the defensive dominance in the league despite the offensive evolution. In the mental game it was clear that Seattle had won the battle while Peyton Manning could not get his team back as the Seahawks defence would dominate Manning and the Broncos offence to become the tam on the top of the mountain for the next year.
Super Bowl XLVIII:
Seattle Seahawks 43 – 8 Denver Broncos
– Turnovers were the difference as the Broncos would throw two INTs and would fumble four times while losing the ball twice giving the Seahawks plenty of opportunity to put up points as the defence dominated and took home the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the first time in Seattle sports history
Super Bowl MVP:
Malcolm Smith, LB (Seattle Seahawks)
5 tkl
4 ass
1 INT
1 TD
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