Super Bowl XLVIII will feature the Denver Broncos against the Seattle Seahawks on February 2nd in MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The Seahawks won the National Football Conference (NFC) Championship by beating the San Francicsco 49ers 23-17 in Seattle. The Broncos earned their place in the title game by beating the New England Patriots in the American Football Conference (AFC) Championship game 26-16 in Denver.
The Seahawk defense needed to come up with a big play to preserve the win, and they did. 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick threw a pass for receiver Michael Crabtree in the right corner of the end zone, but Seahawk cornerback Richard Sherman tipped the ball back to his teammate Malcolm Smith, who intercepted it. The Seahawks then ran out the last 23 seconds to punch their ticket to the Super Bowl.
The second interception thrown by Kaepernick doomed his team, but his rushing yards kept his team ahead for most of the game. He rushed for 130 yards on just 11 carries. He helped with his legs, but ended up hurting his team with a few errant throws in the end.
In addition to Sherman’s tipped pass that resulted in an interception, the other huge Seahawk play resulted in their final touchdown. On 4th down and 7 from the 49er’s 35-yard line in the 4th quarter, a San Francisco player jumped offsides, so knowing they had a free play, Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson threw deep for receiver Jermaine Kearse, who caught the pass for a touchdown, to give the Seahawks the lead they would never relinquish.
In the AFC Championship game, Denver quarterback Peyton Manning threw for 400 yards and 2 touchdowns, as his team never trailed, and won this game rather easily. This will be the 7th Super Bowl for the Broncos, and first since John Elway retired after the 1998 season. The Broncos won Super Bowls after the 1997 and 1998 seasons.
This was the 15th time that Manning’s team has played against the Patriots, with Tom Brady playing quarterback. But this was only the 5th time Manning has won in those games. The last time they played was on November 24th this year in Foxboro, Massachusetts. In that game, Denver held a 24-0 halftime lead, but ended up losing 34-31 in overtime.
On Sunday, the Broncos had a commanding 23-3 lead with just 12:02 remaining in the game. The Patriots then drove 80 yards on consecutive drives, culminating with touchdowns by Brady on a pass and a run, sandwiched around a field goal by Bronco kicker Matt Prater, to cut the lead to 26-10. When New England failed on their 2-point conversion attempt after the 2nd touchdown, to cut the deficit to one possession with 3:07 left, things looked bleak for the Patriots.
Denver receiver Eric Decker recovered the ensuing onside kick attempt, and the Broncos ran out the clock on their last drive. Denver had scored on their 6 previous possessions, but since 4 of those scores were field goals, the Patriots still had a chance until late in the game. To me the story of this game, beside of course Manning’s 400 yards passing, was the Denver defense. They held New England to only 64 yards rushing, and held Brady in check until the 4th quarter.
Super Bowl XLVIII in New Jersey will most likely be the coldest Super Bowl ever. Will Manning be able to throw the ball successfully against the top-ranked Seattle defense, like he has against just about every other team this year? Will Denver’s defense be able to shut down the Seahawk running game, featuring battering ram Marshawn Lynch, who rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown on Sunday? We will find out on February 2nd. I will make my pick in a future article, shortly before the game.
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