Seahawks Rout Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII

It was over before it even started. The first play of the game set the tone for the entire day. Manny Ramirez couldn't hear Peyton Manning and he snapped the ball when Manning wasn't ready, and the ball went over his head and it was recovered by Knowshon Moreno for a safety. 2-0 Seattle just 12 seconds into the game. It never got any better from that point for the Broncos and their fans. The Broncos got whipped by Seattle 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII. The game was basically over from that point on. I never got a chance to even cheer and get excited during this game. It was one of the most embarrassing games the Broncos had played in recent memory. 2-0 turned into 5-0 which turned into 8-0. 15-0 became 22-0 after Malcolm Smith intercepted a Manning pass and returned it in the 2nd quarter for a touchdown. To cap it all off, Percy Harvin returned the second half kickoff for a 29-0 lead and that was it. Seattle dominated, intimidated, and stifled the most prolific offense in NFL history. Manning didn't play well at all, and he looked frazzled and rattled. It was one of the worst performances by a team in Super Bowl history. Give credit to the Seahawks because they were the better team and it showed. In an era where the Super Bowls are usually good and competitive games, this one was a throwback to the one of those 1980s Super Bowls where the NFC just completely dominated the AFC representative. I couldn't really bring myself to write about the game on Sunday or Monday night, but I have been able to comprehend what happened and it is stunning that the Broncos went out like this. Here are my thoughts and observations about the debacle that is known as Super Bowl XLVIII.....

I) There isn't much to breakdown, but the fact that the Manning wasn't ready for the snap and the offense couldn't hear the cadence is inexcusable. How does that happen on the first play of the Super Bowl.

II) Give the Broncos defense for actually forcing two field goals on the first two Seattle possessions. Instead of 8-0 it could have been 16-0. They did a nice job of stopping Marshawn Lynch, but they got cut up by Russell Wilson. Wilson started hitting third down conversions, and Denver forgot that Percy Harvin was back because he burned them early with a sweep play around the end.

III) Down 2-0, the Broncos went three and out on the next series, and the Seattle defenders punished Denver's receivers. The tone was set early, and the Broncos looked like they couldn't answer the bell.

IV) In regards to Manning, he had a bad game. Forget about the final numbers (34-49 for 280 yards 1 TD and 2 INT) because most of those yards were when the game was out of reach. Manning was pressured and attacked, and he couldn't respond. He threw an awful early interception to Kam Chancellor on the Broncos second possession, and he threw an interception on tipped pass to Malcolm Smith on the next possession, and he never recovered. He had one of those days that he can have when he gets pressured. He never got into rhythm, and he was toast from that point on. If you are a Manning hater, this game was another feather in your cap. I feel bad for him, but there is no way around it because he didn't play well at all in this Super Bowl. Even when he put a decent drive together at 22-0, he missed Wes Welker running wide open for a touchdown and instead he tried to force one to Julius Thomas and it was incomplete.

V) I had no problem with the Broncos going for it on 4th and 2 in Seattle territory down 22-0 before the half. I had a problem with the play call. Manning threw a pass to Demaryius Thomas that was incomplete but he was covered by two guys. Even if Denver kicks a field goal there to make 22-3, they weren't coming back at that point.

VI) I really didn't think Denver would come back to win the game down 22-0 at the half, but I thought they would at least get a few scores to maybe make it a 29-17 or 22-13 kind of game entering the 4th quarter, but once Percy Harvin took the kickoff back to start the half, then all hope of any comeback was over. On the next series with Denver driving, Thomas caught a pass over the middle and fumbled and that really gave Denver no shot of getting this game closer at all.

VII) Once the game got to 29-0, everything from there was meaningless. I know Denver's defense gave up two more touchdown passes from Russell Wilson, but they had checked out at that point. It looked like they just wanted to get the game over with and go home in the second half.

VIII) Seattle's defense knocked around the Denver receivers, dominated the line of scrimmage, and harassed and pressured Manning without blitzing at all. They were so much faster than any defense that  Denver faced all year long. They tracked down screens, blew up crossing routes, and completely stifled the Broncos passing attack. All my worst fears were confirmed in the first half. It was one of the most dominating defensive performances I have seen in a Super Bowl. It was on the level of the 1985 Bears, the 2000 Ravens, and the 2003 Bucs.

IX) Going into the game, I thought it would be a competitive game. I figured that if Denver and Seattle played a best of 7 series, that the series between these two teams would go six or seven games. After watching the game, I think the Seattle would either sweep Denver or win the series in five games. That is how much better they were than the Broncos. The sad part is that I have seen this story before. I remember growing up and watching the Broncos get routed in Super Bowls XXI, XXII, and XXIV. This game felt exactly the same way that those games felt. It was like a nightmare revisited. It was like Deja Vu back to my childhood.

X) As the game became a rout and I realized that the Broncos were going to lose Super Bowl XLVIII, I was able to be at peace with it. The day after was worse. I don't think that there is anyway to soften the blow of losing the Super Bowl. I don't care if you lose 43-8 or 27-26, it doesn't matter. It hurts either way. Depression starts to set in, and Monday was worse than Sunday night after the game. The Baltimore loss last year was brutal, and I'm still not over that game. This is just as bad, and it will take me a long time to really get over this game because of how bad the Broncos got beat. This was a 13-3 team that scored over 600 points this year. They were the #1 seed in the AFC, and they went wire-to-wire as the favorites in the AFC to reach the Super Bowl. To go out like they did was just plain awful.

XI) John Fox did a nice job this season, and he has done a good job in his three years in Denver, but he did an awful job in this game. The team didn't seem prepared, and Fox gets the blame for that. How do you account for any noise to start the Super Bowl? What exactly was his gameplan on defense? Fox needs to take blame for this game too. I am starting to get a little worried about Fox. He is a good coach, but he is shaky in game management, and when your team gets killed by 35 points in a Super Bowl, you have to take blame. He got completely out coached by Pete Carroll.

XII) The injuries to Chris Harris and Von Miller really showed up in this game. Champ Bailey got beat for big plays in the first half, and not having Harris out there limited us. We needed a guy like Miller in this game to get after Wilson, and maybe even contain him. Our pass rush wasn't there when we needed it early on those third downs in the first half. It would have been nice to have Ryan Clady out there as well, but our offensive line was overmatched by Seattle's front that I don't think having Clady out there would have changed anything.

XIII) A lot of people are questioning the play calling early on, but I didn't have a problem with that. The Broncos ran a lot of the same stuff that got them to this point. There offense is based on execution, and they ran into a defense that matched up with them, and they were out-executed by that defense plain and simple. As complex as football is, an offense can move the ball and score points by keeping it simple and out-executing the other team. The Broncos did that all year to the tune of 606 points and 76 touchdowns. Of course, Seattle's defense knew their tendencies. They 18 game tapes to watch and figure that out. You don't think San Diego or Bill Belichick knew the Broncos tendencies. The difference was that Denver out-executed those teams because they were better. Seattle's defense was the best defense that Denver faced and they couldn't win a lot of the match ups that were presented.

XIV) As I look back on the Broncos season, there is a lot of smile about. They won the AFC West, finished as the top seed in the AFC, won their two playoff games at home, and beat Tom Brady and the Pats in the AFC Championship. There will be a time this winter, spring, and summer where I will sit down and watch the great regular season wins that they had. There will be a time when I kick back and have a beer and watch the playoff wins over the Chargers and Pats, and I will smile and enjoy those moments forever. Unfortunately, now is not that time. I need time to comprehend and reflect on the bitter defeat that they suffered in this Super Bowl. I still would rather go to the Super Bowl and lose than not get there at all, but this loss will burn me until they win another Super Bowl.

XV) It was an absolute pleasure to watch this team for 18 of the 19 games that they played this year. It was even more fun rehashing every game and every week with this team on this blog. I plan on writing a season-ending mailbag that reviews the regular season, post season, and the upcoming offseason. There is a lot to look back on and there is a lot to talk about regarding the future of this team. I will get to that later in the week. I will lick my wounds on this, regroup and focus on the 2014 offseason as we get closer to free agency starting in March. On a final note, I just want to thank the Broncos for a great ride in 2013. It is easy to be a fan of a team when they are winning, but the true measure of a fan is when your team loses. The Broncos are such a big part of my life, and that won't change. There will be a day when the Broncos are once again hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. Hopefully, that will happen next season in Arizona at Super Bowl XLIX. Go Broncos!