Talk about a clunker. The Seattle Seahawks overwhelmed the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII, 43-8.
On the first play from scrimmage, Denver center Manny Ramirez hiked the ball over quarterback Peyton Manning’s head for a safety and things only got worse from there for the Broncos. Seattle’s domination in all facets of the game -- linebacker Malcolm Smith was named MVP after returning an interception for a touchdown and recovering a fumble-- resulted in the most one-sided NFL championship in more than a decade, since Tampa Bay trounced Oakland 48-21 in Super Bowl XXXVII.
Seattle’s demolition of Denver tied for the third most lopsided contest in Super Bowl history with Dallas’ 52-17 destruction of Buffalo in 1993 behind San Francisco’s 55-10 rout of the Broncos in 1990 and Chicago’s 46-10 triumph over New England in 1986.
Given the game’s western bent, mid-market size -- Seattle-Tacoma is Nielsen DMA No. 13 and Denver is DMA No. 17 -- and one-sided score, it’s hard to imagine Fox’s telecast from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. approaching the top audience marks in Super Bowl history. Indeed, Denver trailed 22-0 at the half and surrendered a Percy Harvin touchdown on the second-half kickoff to all but ensure the victory for the Seahawks, which are owned by Microsoft co-founder and former Charter Communications topper Paul Allen.
