Seahawks’ best performance of season came at perfect time

The Seattle Seahawks possibly played their best football all season in Super Bowl XLVIII. The offense, defense and special teams clicked on all cylinders en route to a 43-8 whipping of the Denver Broncos Feb. 2 in East Rutherford, N.J.

From the Broncos’ first offensive snap that sailed by Peyton Manning for a safety to Seahawks’ coach Pete Carroll receiving a Gatorade bath, Seattle dominated.

Nobody predicted the Seahawks would rout the Broncos like that, not even most Seahawk fans I am sure.

But in a matchup between the No. 1 offense in the league and the No. 1 defense, something had to give, or in this case, crumble, as the Broncos didn’t score until the end of the third quarter.

The saying goes that defense wins championships and offense sells tickets. In the Seahawks’ case, maybe defense wins championships and sells tickets. Oh boy, is that defense fun to watch?

The Seahawks swarmed Manning and his wide receivers. Even on completions, Seahawk defenders made receivers like Demaryius Thomas pay by delivering punishing hits.

In Manning’s defense, he had a decent day statistically, besides the two interceptions to Kam Chancellor and Malcolm Smith, and the lost fumble. He completed 34 of 49 passes for 280 yards and a touchdown.

But the four total turnovers in the game proved costly for the Broncos.

Like Manning’s stat line, other stats also didn’t add up to a Seahawk recipe for success. However, Seattle overcame those stats by finding success elsewhere.

Stopping Marshawn Lynch was probably the biggest goal for the Broncos, and they did just that, limiting him to just 39 yards rushing and a touchdown. But speedster Percy Harvin picked up some of the slack by turning on the jets on two carries for 45 yards.

Second-year quarterback Russell Wilson was on target all game long. He completed 18 of 25 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns.

Jermaine Kearse and Doug Baldwin, the Seahawk receivers who caught a touchdown pass each, proved they weren’t mediocre receivers. Kearse was spun around twice before sprinting in for a touchdown and Baldwin made a shifty move into the end zone after his reception.

The Seahawks overwhelmed the Broncos in almost every imaginable way. They put on a clinic in all three phases of the game (offense, defense and special teams) and scored in each phase also.

Smith’s interception return for a touchdown capped a stunning first half to the Super Bowl, and Harvin’s kickoff return for a touchdown to begin the second half pretty much took the wind right out of the Broncos’ sails. Perhaps Denver’s kickoff coverage team was trying to listen to Bruno Mars at halftime instead of its special teams coach.

While the Broncos did a great job of stopping Lynch, the Seahawks held the Broncos’ offense in check the entire game.

Sure, Denver racked up yards and drove down the field, but while Seattle’s defense gave a little, it certainly didn’t break. The Seahawks defense forced turnovers and made stops just when the Broncos started to pick up steam on offensive drives.

From the defensive line to the Legion of Boom, the Seattle secondary, the Seahawks’ defense was what it had been all year – the fastest and most physical unit on the field.