(Getty)
The Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos faced off in Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
There was no shortage of hype heading into America’s biggest sporting event. Seattle boasted the NFL’s best defense and Denver the league’s top offense.
As it turns out, defense really does win championships.
The Seahawks defense smothered Peyton Manning and the high-octane Broncos attack, cruising to an easy 43-8 victory in one of the most lopsided Super Bowls in history.
While the Super Bowl was quite disappointing, the Twitter world was nonetheless a buzz during the action. According to Simply Measured, there were over 10 million total mentions about the Seahawks, Broncos and Bruno Mars during the game.
The chart below illustrates the Twitter trends as the game progressed.
You can find a complete breakdown of all the action here, including GIFs, videos, tweets and more. Here are the biggest moments of Super Bowl XLVIII, presented in chronological order:
1. Seattle Wins Coin Toss
The Seahawks won the coin toss and, not surprisingly, chose to defer and play defense right out of the gate.
Legendary Jets quarterback Joe Namath, donning an stylish fur jacket, conducted the coin toss. He was a little hasty to flip the coin, doing so before the Seahawks captains could call heads or tails.
Check out the video below.
2. Seattle Capitalizes on Denver’s Botched Snap on First Play from Scrimmage
Center Manny Ramirez wasn’t on the same page as Peyton Manning on the Broncos’ very first play from scrimmage. Seattle capitalized on the miscue with a safety, taking a 2-0 lead right out of the gate.
Here’s a closer look at Peyton during the botched exchange.
You can check out video of the play below.
Fastest score in Super Bowl history. Took 12 seconds, crushes the old record of 14 seconds set by Devin Hester in 2006.
— Eye on Football (@EyeOnNFL) February 2, 2014
Score: Seattle 2, Denver 0 — 14:48 remaining in the first quarter.
3. Seattle Extends Lead With Hauschka Field Goal
(Getty)
Seattle extended its lead to 5-0 after Steven Hauschka drilled a 31-yard field goal on the team’s opening possession.
Despite moving the ball inside the Denver 10-yard line on a nine-play, 51-yard drive, the Seahawks were forced to kick a field goal after Russell Wilson came up just short of the marker on a third-down run.
Score: Seattle 5, Denver 0 — 10:21 remaining in the first quarter.
3. Seahawks Pad Lead With Another Hauschka Field Goal
A 37-yard pitch and catch from Russell Wilson to Doug Baldwin brought the Seahawks all the way down to the Broncos six-yard line. But the Denver defense stiffened up with their backs near the goal line, keeping Wilson and co. out of the end zone.
Seattle came close to scoring a touchdown, but linebacker Nate Irving broke up a pass that looked to be caught for six by wideout Jermaine Kearse.
Haushcka connected on a 33-yard field goal — his second of the game — to extend the Seahawks lead.
Score: Seattle 8, Broncos 0 — 2:16 remaining in first quarter.
4. Kam Chancellor Picks Off Errant Peyton Manning Pass
Kam Chancellor picked off an ill-advised throw by Peyton Manning late in the first quarter. The Broncos continued to struggle moving the ball on the stingy Seattle defense.
Score: Seattle 8, Denver 0 — 59 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
5. Seattle Dominates the First Quarter
(Getty)
The Seahawks clearly won the first quarter of Super Bowl XLVIII. Pete Carroll’s squad led 8-0 through the first 15 minutes of play, but easily could have owned a bigger advantage had they capitalized with touchdowns on Denver’s early mistakes.
The Broncos had 37 yards in their first drive of the AFC Championship Game. They have 11 yards in the entire 1st QUARTER of the Super Bowl
— Numbers Never Lie (@ESPN_Numbers) February 3, 2014
This was the first time a Peyton Manning team failed to get a first down in the first quarter since 2005 (Week 15 vs Chargers). #SB48
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 3, 2014
6. Crucial Pass Interference Penalty Leads to Marshawn Lynch Touchdown
Tony Carter was flagged for pass interference on Golden Tate on a critical 3rd-and-4 from the Denver five-yard line.
The infraction gave the Seahawks a fresh set of downs at the one. Marshawn Lynch engaged “Beast Mode” and pounded the ball into the end zone to give Seattle a decisive 15-0 advantage.
Score: Seattle 15, Denver 0 – 12:00 remaining in the second quarter.
7. Malcolm Smith Intercepts Peyton Manning, Takes it to the House
It began to get ugly late in the second quarter. Just when the Broncos finally looked like they were getting into a rhythm offensively, the Seahawks defense made another play.
Malcolm Smith takes an errant pass 69 yards for the pick-6. #LegionOfBoom is DOMINATING Peyton Manning. Seattle leads Denver, 22-0. #SB48
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 3, 2014
Peyton Manning was under duress as he launched a fluttering pass that fell right into the waiting arms of Malcolm Smith, who galloped 69 yards to pay dirt.
Watch Smith’s pick six below:
Score: Seattle 22, Denver 0 — 3:21 remaining in the second quarter.
8. Broncos Fail to Convert on 4th Down
With the first half winding to a close, the Broncos hoped to generate a spark by going for it on 4th-and-2 from the Seattle 19-yard line.
However, John Fox’s decision backfired as Manning’s throw, intended for Demaryius Thomas, fell incomplete in the left flat. Seahawks defensive end Chris Clemons appeared to get a hand on the pass.
Score: Seahawks 22, Broncos 0 — 1:01 remaining in second quarter.
9. Halftime Score: Seattle 22, Denver 0
@seattletimes. (Twitter)
The Seahawks were content to take their 22-point lead into the halftime break, running out the final minute of the second quarter with a pair of runs by Marshawn Lynch.
#Seahawks' 22-0 halftime lead third largest in #SuperBowl history. #Broncos been behind in three largest halftime deficits (SB XXII, XXIV).
— Seattle Times Sports (@SeaTimesSports) February 3, 2014
10. Unbelievable! Percy Harvin’s Kickoff Return Puts Broncos in Deeper Hole
Nobody saw this coming.
Seattle received the ball first in the second half and wasted no time in delivering a knockout punch to a floundering opponent.
Percy Harvin returned Matt Prater’s kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown — and Seattle had again scored within the first 12 seconds of the half.
Percy Harvin is such a special player. If it wasn't already ballgame, that ices it. Picked him as my pregame MVP. He's not done yet
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) February 3, 2014
You can watch video of Harvin’s big return below.
This is the 1st time Peyton Manning has trailed by at least 29 points in any game since the 2002 Wild Card round at Jets (lost 41-0). #SB48
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 3, 2014
Score: Seattle 29, Denver 0 — 14:48 remaining in the third quarter.
11. Richard Sherman Injured Early in Third Quarter
(Getty)
Richard Sherman, Seattle’s shutdown cornerback, was injured on a first-down play early in the third period. He sat out for one play before re-entering the game.
When the game was on ice in the fourth quarter, Sherman was carted to the locker room early with an injured ankle.
Richard Sherman is being carted-off the #Seahawks sideline #SB48
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) February 3, 2014
12. Seahawks Recover Demaryius Thomas Fumble, Force Third Broncos Turnover
Nothing went right for the Denver Broncos. Peyton Manning found Demaryius Thomas for a 23-yard completion deep in Seattle territory, but Byron Maxwell knocked the ball loose and Malcolm Smith recovered the fumble.
To add insult to injury, a dead-ball, 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Orlando Franklin moved the ball all the way to the 42-yard line.
Score: Seattle 29, Denver 0 — 5:55 remaining in the third quarter.
13. Jermaine Kearse Puts the Game on Ice
The Seahawks continued the onslaught when Russell Wilson connected with Jermaine Kearse for a 23-yard touchdown late in the third period.
Wilson completed three passes to three different receivers on the six-play, 58-yard scoring drive.
Score: Seattle 36, Denver 0 — 2:58 remaining in the third quarter.
14. Broncos Finally Get on the Scoreboard
It took Denver until the final play of the third quarter, but Peyton Manning and co. finally tallied some points on the tough Seattle defense. Manning found Demaryius Thomas for a 14-yard score, and then hooked up with Wes Welker on the two-point conversion to trim the Seahawks lead to 24.
Peyton Manning with his 60th touchdown pass of 2013. Denver on the board for their first score of the game. #SB48
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) February 3, 2014
Score: Seattle 36, Denver 8 — 15:00 remaining in the fourth quarter.
15. Seahawks Respond With Score
The Seahawks quickly answered the Denver touchdown with a well-executed five-play, 48-yard touchdown drive of their own. Russell Wilson found Doug Baldwin for a 10-yard score to push the lead back to 35 with under 12 minutes to play.
Score: Seattle 43, Denver 8 — 11:45 remaining in the fourth quarter.
16. It Was Officially Over at 10 p.m. Eastern: The Seattle Seahawks Are Super Bowl XLVIII Champions
(Getty)
Although the game was thoroughly in hand far before the clock struck all zeroes, the Seattle Seahawks officially became Super Bowl champions at 10 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday night.
Final Score: Seattle 43, Denver 8
Not 1 single @Seahawks player had a Super Bowl ring coming into tonight's game.
Now EVERY @Seahawks player has a ring.
Congrats Seattle.
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) February 3, 2014
Pete Carroll got the traditional Gatorade bath after the victory.
17. Malcolm Smith Garners MVP Honors
(Getty)
Linebacker Malcolm Smith was named MVP of Super Bowl XLVIII. The 24-year-old USC product filled out the stat sheet on Sunday — recording nine tackles, a fumble recovery and of course, the memorable 69-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter.
When speaking to reporters in the post-game press conference, Smith was interrupted by 9/11 “truther” Matthew Mills, who accused the the U.S. government of perpetrating the attacks on the World Trade Centers and urged an investigation into the the events of September 11, 2001.
