The Denver Broncos were destroyed by the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII on Sunday night, but did they fight until the finish? While the Broncos put together one nifty drive late in the third quarter that ended with a Demaryius Thomas touchdown, their team effort looked as poor as you will ever see in a championship game. Seahawks defensive tackle Tony McDaniel thought Peyton Manning and company gave up.
“When we was up about 29 points, just his whole emotion was kind of like he was dry,” McDaniel told Around the League’s Marc Sessler. “Just the whole team looked like they was giving up, and once we scored again, I knew it was over.”
The Seahawks were up 22 points going into halftime. The Broncos could not have been feeling great, but they should not have completely given up hope down three scores with the best offense in the NFL.
When Percy Harvin took the opening kickoff of the second half to the house to put Seattle up 29-0, everyone knew it was over. It would be human nature for the Broncos to feel their championship hopes evaporate at that point. Cliff Avril, who hit Manning’s arm to force a crucial pick-six late in the first half, was asked if he thought Denver packed it in after that.
“How could they not?” he asked.
Seattle is the best team in football for a reason, and they probably would have won even if the Broncos played their best. Denver simply picked a terrible time to have its worst game of the season.
