Seattle Seahawks dominate in first Superbowl win

Victorious Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is showered in the energy drink Gatorade. Picture: Getty

The Seahawks won their first Super Bowl crown in overpowering fashion, punishing Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos 43-8. That masterful defence, the NFL’s stingiest, never let the five-time Most Valuable Player get going, disarming the highest-scoring offence in league history. “The only way we could say we were the best defence was to take down the best offence,” linebacker Bobby Wagner said.

Seattle were too quick, too physical and just too good for Denver, and that was true in all areas. What was hyped as a classic match-up between an unstoppable offence and a miserly defence turned into a rout. “We been relentless all season,” quarterback Russell Wilson said.

“Having that mentality of having a championship day every day. At the end of the day, you want to play your best football and that is what we did today.”

Punctuating Seattle’s dominance were a 69-yard interception return touchdown by linebacker Malcolm Smith to make it 22-0, and Percy Harvin’s sensational 87-yard kickoff runback to open the second half. Smith was the game’s MVP, the first defender in 11 years to win the award.

When the Seahawks, up by 29 points, forced a Denver punt early in the third quarter, the 12th Man – and there were legions of them in MetLife Stadium in New Jersey – began chanting “L-O-B, L-O-B.” As in Legion of Boom, the Seahawks’ hard-hitting defensive secondary line, part of a young team with an average age of 26 years, 138 days.

“This is an amazing team. Took us four years to get to this point but they never have taken a step sideways,” coach Pete Carroll said. “These guys would not take anything but winning this ballgame.”

The loss by the Broncos again raised questions about Manning’s ability to win the biggest games. He is 11-12 in the postseason, 1-2 in Super Bowls. After the game, he brushed off questions about his legacy. “Certainly to finish this way is very disappointing,” he said. He never looked comfortable against a defence some will begin comparing to the 1985 Bears and 2000 Ravens – other NFL champions who had runaway Super Bowl victories.

The Seahawks looked comfortable and at ease, and not just their defence, which lost All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman to a high ankle sprain in the fourth quarter. He celebrated on crutches. “I hope we etched our names in the history books,” Sherman said.

Wilson, who has an NFL-record 28 wins in his first two pro seasons, including play-offs, had a 23-yard TD pass to Jermaine Kearse late in the third quarter to make it 36-0. Wilson also hit Doug Baldwin for a 10-yard score in the final period in what had become one of the most lopsided Super Bowls.

The victory was particularly sweet for Carroll, who was fired in 1994 by the Jets, led the Patriots for three seasons and again was canned. After a short stint out of coaching, he took over at Southern California and won two national titles. But he always believed that he had some unfinished business in the NFL.