The Seattle Seahawks dominated over the Denver Broncos during Super Bowl XLVIII with a 43-8 win.
According to Bleacher Report, Peyton Manning and the Bronco offense are the best in the league, but it was no match for Seattle’s “Legion of Boom.” The game was supposed to be the most pivotal. It was an extremely lop-sided win as Seattle shut Denver down and earned the Vince Lombardi Trophy. It was the first championship win for the Seahawks.
First Half
In the first few minutes of the game, Seattle had 2-0 with a safety when Denver’s Manny Ramirez snapped the ball over Manning’s head into the end zone. Seattle’s Stephen Hauschka put up three points with a 31-yard field goal making the score 5-0. Seattle’s Quarterback Russell Wilson’s 37-year pass to Doug Baldwin put the team in scoring position once again. Hauschka put up three with a 33-year field goal moving the score to 8-0.
With Denver on 3rd-and-7, Manning was under pressure and threw a pass to Julius Thomas but it was intercepted by Seattle safety Kam Chancellor. Denver put up a strong defensive effort but a pass-interference penalty put Seattle on the 1-yard line. The first touchdown of the game came from Marshawn Lynch bringing the score to 15-0. With the Bronco’s in possession of the ball, they converted four third downs before Manning threw another interception. Seattle linebacker Malcolm Smith intercepted the ball and ran it in for a touchdown bringing the score to 22-0 at the end of the first half.
Second Half
The second half started out as powerful as the first. Denver kicker Matt Prater kicked off and Seattle’s Percy Harvin returned it for 87-yard touchdown bring the score to 29-0. With Denver in possession of the ball once again, Seattle’s Byron Maxwell punched the ball out and linebacker Smith gained another turnover on the fumble recovery. Seattle started on the 42-yard line, made its way to the 23-yard line and then Wilson hit Jermaine Kearse on a slant. The receiver evaded defenders and made his way into the end zone. With the score now, 36-0 Denver needed to put points up fast. As the third quarter, ended Demaryius Thomas made a 14-yard touchdown grab from Manning. For Thomas that was his 12th catch of the game, a Super Bowl record. Denver had no choice but to go for two points and Manning hit Wes Welker for the two point conversion, making the score 36-8. At this point Denver was down by five scores.
Seattle cemented their championship when Wilson connected with Doug Baldwin for a 10-yard touchdown pass. The final score was 43-8 and it was no doubt that Seattle dominated the game from start to finish. Malcolm Smith was named the Super Bowl MVP.
This Super Bowl was the most watched TV show in U.S. history.
According to Deadline, final numbers show that 111.5 million viewers tuned into the Super Bowl on Sunday contrary to what preliminary numbers said.
The Super Bowl one upped last year’s Halftime Show. Bruno Mars and The Red Hot Chili Peppers drew 115.3 million viewers, more than the Beyoncé performance from last year with 110.8 million and Madonna’s 2012 performance of 114 million. The game also set a rating record with a 44.5/70 kickoff rating, the highest in Super Bowl history, up 12% from 2013. The highest ratings of the Super Bowl came in between 7:30 – 8 PM ET with 47.9/71 when Seattle took over the game with a 22-0 lead.
The Super Bowl commercials were probably more exciting than the actual game.
A majority of the top ranking commercials this year had a family friendly theme. Other ads that ranked high were Doritos’ “Cowboy Kid” and “Time Machine”, Budweiser’s “Hero’s Welcome”, and RadioShack’s “The Phone Call”. TiVo SVP Tara Maitra says many viewers stayed to watch the ads even though the game was a blow out.
She says the Super Bowl has become “a live TV event and people are watching it for different elements, not just the game itself.”
There were 20 60-second spots on the Super Bowl, up from 14 in 2013. Fox aired 28 promos compared to CBS’ 48 last year.