Holy crap. I was actually expecting it to be one-sided but not nearly this bad.
Let me start with this. Denver had 6 people on protection; 5 linemen and 1 running back. Always. Protecting Manning. Seattle rushed four on most if not all dropbacks. That means that Seattle left 7 guys on coverage - Malcolm Smith, Walter Thurmond, Byron Maxwell, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman, and some other linebacker. Cliff Avril had his fingers on every ball that was picked off. Occasionally, Moreno or Ball will break off from blitz pickups and go out for a checkdown, which rarely happened.
These seven are very physical and very powerful. Then you have Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker, Julius Thomas, and Eric Decker. Eric Decker is above average and not nearly as good as his statline indicates; he has like 12 TDs, 8 of which were between two games. Demaryius Thomas and Julius Thomas are not very physical or very good at going against being bumped at the line. Wes Welker is not as good as he used to be, but he's still the third best WR on that team and a damn good slot receiver.
So that's 7 on 4 - holy crap. Most teams go 5 on 4, 5 on 5, or 7 on 5 in coverage. This is 7 on 4, and the 6 blocking for Manning were still not doing nearly enough.
And the Seahawks? Never moved on from their Cover 3. There was literally nothing that Manning could audible to or from - each player was simply unable to win their individual battles. There was very little Manning could do. The receivers needed to carry the load from there but they couldn't do anything. One pick, Moreno was open "enough" and he didn't even try to go for the catch (which was a desperation heave) - womp, Malcolm Smith pick six. There was literally nothing Peyton or any QB could do.
That defense was so poor the whole game. They stopped Lynch quite a bit, but their pass defense was getting torched. They put someone on contain for Russell Wilson but he could not do anything. There was no discipline on special teams which allowed Percy Harvin to lock up the game.
This was quite possibly the worst Super Bowl matchup in retrospect, and I was expecting this subconsciously but I didn't want it to be true. I don't want the NFC to keep winnings Super Bowls like they did in the 80s and 90s.
Pressure on his face constantly, and everyone was covered all the time. Exactly what the Ravens were going through this year. At least we get Denver's sympathy.
And what doesn't bode well is that they demolished the playoffs. The Patriots were easy mode because most of that defense was injured and that offense was reliant wholly on the run game - they were very one dimensional, and they torched Denver through the air during garbage time. Almost exactly the same thing against the Chargers. None of these receivers are anything like Anquan Boldin or anything, and in fact against a defense like Seattle you need a player like Anquan. Pisses me off everytime when you hear about Joe Flacco or someone relying on Anquan Boldin, but this game and many other games in the AFC playoffs show one thing - a receiver who can play physical against tough cornerbacks are almost necessary. And this game shows us that good defense and a good special teams are always necessary, because your offense won't always be amazing no matter what they did in the playoffs, especially against an overwhelming mismatch like Seattle.
So much about this game pisses me off, and the aftermath will be the worst - how much all of this will be blamed on Manning. You put any QB - ANY QB, including Russell Wilson who was on the winning end of this Super Bowl - and they will not fare any better or even any worse. Joe could've scored an extra TD because his playstyle relies on his arm strength (which Manning lacks), Brady would've stayed about the same and same with someone like Montana. Cam Newton and Andrew Luck would be more threatening due to their mobility. But when Manning knows exactly what defense they're running, they rely on the rest of the team to follow suit - and they simply could not.
Pitiful, pitiful showing by the Denver Broncos, and they dishonored the GOAT QB with that display.