The Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks will be facing each other on February 2nd in Super Bowl XLVIII. It’s never too early to analyze the big game, so why not do it now? Both Denver and Seattle were number one seeds in the playoffs (and both finished with 13-3 records). The last time two number one seeds faced each other in the playoffs, it was when the 13-3 New Orleans Saints faced off against Peyton Manning’s 14-2 Indianapolis Colts in February of 2010. We all know how that went for Peyton. Now Peyton will try again to tie his brother Eli in Super Bowl wins when he faces off a physical Seahawks team. Peyton has not faced a Seattle defense since he’s been a Bronco, so this will be a first for him. The Seahawks have been able to shut down almost every quarterback they’ve played against this year. But then again they haven’t played against a guy like Peyton Manning either. The best quarterback they played against this season was Drew Brees back on December 2nd and they shut down the Saints’ high-octane offense to just seven points. Manning statistically has had the best season a quarterback could possibly have throwing for 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns. Both are NFL records. He will have his hands full preparing for Seattle’s defense that was first in takeaways this year. Good thing he has a whole two weeks to prepare! As for the Seahawks, they have to make sure that they don’t rely too heavily on the young and inexperienced Russell Wilson. He may be a good quarterback, but the Super Bowl is the ultimate test for handling pressure. Just feed Marshawn Lynch the ball and unleash his “Beast Mode” on the Denver defense. The Broncos are ranked the seventh best run-stopping defense in the NFL, but that’s because Denver’s offense puts up so many points that their opponents are forced to throw the ball to catch up. Meanwhile, the Seahawks have the fourth best rush offense in the NFL. Coach John Fox and Broncos’ defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio have done a good job coaching this defense, but it does have some weaknesses. The Seahawks should do what they do best and that should penetrate Denver’s overrated defense. Another interesting stat to go along with this game is that the number one offense in the NFL (Denver) will be clashing with the number one defense in the NFL (Seattle). The best part of this upcoming Super Bowl is watching Manning dissect Seattle’s defense throughout the game. Let’s hope he knows who Seahawks’ cornerback Richard Sherman is covering when the game starts (he leads the NFL with 8 interceptions).
Credit: thesportsquotient.com
How the Broncos will win: The Seattle Seahawks’ defense is physically the most dominating in the league, so Peyton Manning and offensive coordinator Adam Gase will have to outsmart this defense in order to put points on the board. Once an experienced Peyton Manning figures out an opponent’s weakness, it’s already over.
How the Seahawks will win: Run the ball and keep Manning off the field. Russell Wilson will have to convert third downs with both his arm and his legs, something he’s been doing all season long. Marshawn Lynch should win the Super Bowl MVP after this thing is through. Give him the ball and watch him batter the Broncos’ defense.
Who will win? Sorry Peyton, but looks like you’ll drop to 1-2 in Super Bowls. Everyone knows that defense wins championships and the Seahawks have the best one in the league. Lynch will be jacked up on Skittles and have more than a hundred yards rushing in his first Super Bowl appearance. Wilson won’t put up great stats, but he doesn’t need to with a defense like the Seahawks’. Seattle wins 20-17.
The Basket Foot 