Here are 12 thoughts on the Seahawks’ Super Bowl win, 10 years later
SEATTLE – The hope that night in New Jersey, of course, was that the Seahawks’ run had only just begun.
That the 43-8 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII was just the first of a handful of trips to the victor’s stage. The first of a few happy parades.
But only an hour or so after the Seahawks put the finishing touches on the domination of Denver, even optimistic coach Pete Carroll sounded a note of caution when asked about doing it again the next season.
“That’s a long ways down the road,” Carroll said. “We’ll see what happens.”
It’s well remembered that a few days later at the parade Carroll sounded much more in character, famously saying that the Seahawks were “just getting warmed up.”
You might not need reminding that although the Seahawks stayed hot for a while, their star never burned quite as brightly as it did in New Jersey, the only time they have won the Lombardi Trophy.
It’s a trophy that is somehow 10 years old, the anniversary of the game passing Friday.
To commemorate what remains the greatest day for the Seahawks and their fans, here are 12 notes, quotes and anecdotes about Super Bowl XLVIII.
1. An early record that still holds
Seattle memorably didn’t have to wait long to have something to cheer about that night. Denver’s first snap of the game flew over quarterback Peyton Manning’s head and into the end zone for a safety, credited to Cliff Avril, that gave Seattle a 2-0 lead a fitting 12 seconds into the game. That remains the fastest score in Super Bowl history and is the most recent safety in a Super Bowl game – there have been just seven.
2. A long night of celebration
Ironic might be the word to describe that the Seahawks won the biggest game in their history in the most un-Seahawks way imaginable. There were no late-game heroics needed. No nervous moments. Just Seattle jumping out to a big early lead and never letting up. In a stat that might be obvious but is worth repeating, Seattle led for 59 minutes and 48 seconds, a Super Bowl record that might never be broken.
3. Among the most impressive wins
Seattle’s 35-point margin of victory also remains tied for third in Super Bowl history behind only the 49ers’ 55-10 victory over Denver in 1990 and Chicago’s 46-10 win over New England in 1986. In fact, no game has come close to being such a blowout since. The nine games since then have been decided by a total margin of victory of 81 points.
4. It was a night of many returns
Another record that still stands: Seattle became the only Super Bowl team to score on a safety, interception return and kickoff return. The latter was Percy Harvin’s 87-yard return of the opening kickoff of the second half for a TD that put Seattle up 29-0. Harvin also scored in just 12 seconds. Like Avril’s safety, that remains the most recent kickoff return for a TD in the Super Bowl.
5. And of defense
Few may need reminding that the pregame hype centered on the matchup of a Denver offense that ranked first in the NFL against a Seattle defense that also ranked first. In fact, the disparity between the average points per game Denver scored – 37.9 – and the average points per game Seattle allowed – 14.4 – was the greatest in Super Bowl history at 23.4. But the Seahawks proved anew the adage that defense wins championship – only once in seven “best offense” versus “best defense” matchups has the No. 1 offense won the game (the 49ers over Denver in 1990). It’s happened once since Seattle did it, when the Patriots beat the Falcons in 2017.
6. Just how dominant?
The NFL’s game notes summarized it nicely afterward: “The Seahawks’ suffocating defense held Peyton Manning and the Broncos’ record-setting offense to eight points (37.9 avg. in regular season), 27 rushing yards (117.1 ypg in regular season), 280 passing yards (340.3 ypg in regular season) and 306 total yards (457.3 ypg in regular season) in Super Bowl XLVIII. Seattle also won the turnover battle 4-0 (two interceptions, two fumble recoveries).” Denver had just two rushing first downs – only four teams have had fewer, including New England the next year against the Seahawks.
7. A rare feat for Wilson
One reason for all the optimism that the Super Bowl victory might be the start of a few more was the team’s youth. That included quarterback Russell Wilson, who became just the fourth quarterback in only his second year to win a Super Bowl. Wilson remains only the fourth second-year QB to achieve that feat. But that group could be joined this year by San Francisco’s Brock Purdy.
8. Wilson’s postseason legacy
Now that the Carroll era is over, some of the narratives created throughout will live on forever. But one that may not be accurate is that Wilson rode the defense’s coattails to two Super Bowls. Certainly, his play in the two Super Bowls somewhat defied the “game manager” tag he had in those days.
In the win over Denver, Wilson went 6 of 7 on third downs for 78 yards, with all six completions resulting in a first down, with two other third-down throws resulting in penalties for a first down. Wilson still has the third-highest career passer rating in Super Bowl history at 117.4 in two games behind only Joe Montana (127.5) and Jim Plunkett (122.8) and an average gain of 9.85 that is the second highest behind the 11.10 of Terry Bradshaw. Turn the ill-fated pass the following year into a TD instead of an interception, and Wilson would have a career Super Bowl passer rating of 135.6.
9. Did one game make it all worth it?
Of course, we shouldn’t go further without mentioning the play of Harvin, who for at least one night showed why the Seahawks had given up so much the previous month – first- and third-round picks in the 2013 draft, specifically – to get him. Harvin played only two games for the Seahawks before the Super Bowl and would play only five more after it.
But he’ll always have a warm place in many Seahawks fans’ hearts for the Super Bowl. It might be forgotten that he also led Seattle in rushing with 45 yards, 30 of which came on a tone-setting second play of the game, to finish with 137 all-purpose yards overall.
10. The great MVP debate
Few also may need reminding that linebacker Malcolm Smith emerged as the game’s MVP for a performance that included a 69-yard interception return for a TD that made the score 22-0 late in the first half, as well as a fumble recovery in the second half that led to another TD.
Several others, of course, could have been considered, notably safety Kam Chancellor, who had the early tone-setting hit on Denver receiver Demaryius Thomas as well as an interception that set up Seattle’s first TD that made it 15-0. But hey, that’s a lot better than the debate about the Super Bowl MVP that, to at least some, will forever shroud the following year’s game.
11. And then there were two
It might be an obvious point, but as the 2023 season ended, just two players from that Seahawks team remained active – Wilson and linebacker Bobby Wagner. Seattle has had at least one player from the Super Bowl-winning team see significant playing time for at least part of every season since the game. But if Wagner doesn’t return in 2024 – and all bets may be off now with the coaching staff change – there might finally, inevitably, be a Seahawks season with no on-field ties to the Super Bowl win.
12. A lasting memory
The Super Bowl anniversary suddenly feels even more poignant with this week’s coaching changing of the guard. Mike Macdonald was introduced as the new Seahawks coach on Thursday – one day before the 10-year anniversary. In his goodbye news conference on Jan. 10, Carroll as expected referred to that weekend as the highlight of his 14-year Seahawks career.
“The thrill of a lifetime was being in that parade for our fans and people and all that,” he said at one point. At another, asked his favorite moment as a Seahawk Carroll said: “My favorite moment was standing on the stage in New York (after the Super Bowl victory) and finding (his wife) Glena out in the crowd. That was it, by far.”
And even though Carroll is gone, and every player from that team might be by next season, it is those memories that will endure. Carroll predicted as much in a speech he gave to the team in the locker room after the game, later revealed by NFL Films.
“We will never be separated in this moment,” Carroll said. “You guys did this together with these people in this room. Let’s make sure we always remember that.”