AUSTIN ARVAY 

In a game that was never really close, the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos 43-8 to win Super Bowl XLVIII. There was only 12 seconds of the whole game where Seattle didn’t hold a lead, as their defence paved the way for a lopsided victory.

The Super Bowl was supposed to be a marquee matchup between a great Denver Broncos offence, led by the league’s Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning, against a strong defence led by expert trash-talker Richard Sherman. Numerous experts predicted a close game, with many picking Denver to come away with the win. Boy, were they wrong.

On the game’s first play, the snap sailed past Manning into the endzone resulting in a safety and two points to Seattle — only the beginning of a nightmare day for Manning and his offence. The Seattle defence picked him off twice and also forced four fumbles as they completely shut down the highflying Bronco offence.

Middle linebacker Malcolm Smith was named MVP of the game as he had one interception, which he returned 69 yards for a Seattle touchdown. He also recovered a fumble and had 10 tackles.

The Seahawks offence was a different story. They had three touchdowns and two field goals and only had to punt once in the game’s entirety. With 206 yards passing and two touchdowns, quarterback Russell Wilson was unbelievable on third downs all game.

It was Percy Harvin who made the difference, though. He had two carries for 45 yards as well a kickoff return for a touchdown just 12 seconds into the second half. The play made the score 29-0 and was the final blow to the Denver hopes.

Seattle drove the field twice following the safety, but could only manage field goals and took an 8-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. After another Denver turnover, Marshawn Lynch eventually punched in a one-yard touchdown run to give Seattle a 15-0 advantage. With just three minutes to go in the first half, Smith had the aforementioned ‘pick six’ to give the Seahawks a comfortable halftime lead.

Late in the third quarter, receiver Jermaine Kearse caught a 23-yard touchdown pass, bringing the score up to 36-0. Denver would respond and get on the board with Demaryius Thomas scoring a 14-yard touchdown. Doug Baldwin rounded out the scoring in the fourth quarter with a 10-yard touchdown catch.

Despite the defeat, both Manning and Demaryius Thomas set Super Bowl records. No one in the big game had thrown as many completions as Manning did on Sunday as he went 34-49 in passing. Thomas set the record for most catches in a game with 13.

Super Bowl XLIX will be played in sunny Phoenix, Arizona.