Seattle and Denver played in Week 2 of the preseason back in August. Ian Allan looks back at that game to look for clues that might apply to the rematch.
A couple of quick thoughts on the Super Bowl:
Weather will play a big role
If you’re a Broncos fan, you want good weather – as warm as possible, and as little wind as possible. If you favor the Seahawks, you want it to be as nasty as possible – 20 degrees and winds over 20 mph. Maybe some snow. With the game two weeks out, it’s too soon for anybody to have any idea what the conditions might be. Per weather.com, they’re expecting highs of 19, 24 and 26 degrees on the first three days of next week, with winds around 10 mph and little chance of snow. Close to the end of this week, we can start looking at weather.
Richard Sherman, shutdown corner
Sherman is a very good cornerback. In my eyes, he’s in the mix to maybe be the best cornerback in the league right now. Joe Haden, Patrick Peterson, Aqib Talib, Darrelle Revis (when healthy); there are a lot of good ones out there. But Sherman plays a side. He won’t follow Demaryius Thomas or Eric Decker. Instead, he’ll just play whoever the Broncos put on that side. So I don’t expect he’ll play a huge role. The Broncos can game plan around him. If they don’t want to throw in his direction, they don’t have to. Especially if the weather is decent, I think Peyton Manning will be able to find some weak spots in that secondary; he’ll find some matchups where they can win. Maybe even a few completions on Sherman. The way teams run pick plays nowadays, it’s really hard for any cornerback to shut down any good wide receiver.
AFC West Super Bowl
Seattle used to play in the AFC West. Back in the day, there was a very nice rivalry between these teams. On the Seattle end, probably the highlight of this series was a back-and-forth between Steve Largent and safety Mike Harden. In Week 1 of the 1988 season, Harden injured Largent with a helmet-to-face hit that chipped two of Largent’s teeth and gave him a concussion. The league fined Harden for the hit. But in the rematch in the Kingdome in December, Largent put together maybe the best payback play by the a wide receiver in NFL history. Harden intercepted a pass, but during his return, he didn’t see Largent coming in from the side. Largent sent him flying ass over teakettle, not only crushing Harden but causing a fumble (which Largent then recovered). It’s a play I’m sure will be mentioned a few dozen times in the next two weeks.
Percy Harvin; X factor
Harvin has played in only parts of two games. But he showed playmaking ability in both of them. In the first half of the Saints game, he was definitely the receiver they were trying to feature. They were looking to get him the ball. Golden Tate and Doug Baldwin have some ability, but Harvin has more ability to make guys miss after the catch. On those quick throws outside, Harvin is more likely to turn one of those into a big play. He also could be a factor returning kickoffs. The only one he handled this year he returned 58 yards against Minnesota. Harvin missed the 49ers game with a concussion but should be cleared long before they seriously begin practicing for this game.
Looking ahead -- 2014
Denver will play at Seattle in the 2014 regular season. And one of these teams will host the season-opening game. That’s the league’s preferred formula – to give the Super Bowl champions the honor of opening the next season with a home game against a good opponent. Denver’s eight home games next year: Buffalo, Miami, Arizona, San Francisco, Indianapolis, Kansas City, San Diego and Oakland. So I would guess that if Denver wins the Super Bowl, that first game will be either the 49ers or Colts at Mile High. Seattle’s home games next year are Dallas, Denver, Oakland, Green Bay, San Francisco, Arizona, St. Louis and the Giants. Lots of possibilities in there.
Looking back (preseason)
These teams met, recall, at CenturyLink Field in the preseason, and it was more meaningful than a typical game in August. Most teams played their first unit guys for most of the first half. For fantasy purposes, I recall, the big development was that Ronnie Hillman fumbled twice, including one that was returned 106 yards for a touchdown. At the time, the thought was that Hillman definitely was going to be their starting tailback. These fumbles might have been the reason Knowshon Moreno ended up being their starting tailback on opening day.
I remember watching that game (and realizing at the time that it was a potential Super Bowl preview). Maybe the league will re-air it on the NFL Network before too long. For now, I’ve got the play-by-play in front of me.
It went as follows …
Denver starts at its 20. Manning throws 2 incompletions to Decker and an 8-yard completion to Welker. Punt.
Seattle’s first drive starts at the 35. Marshawn Lynch is only in there for a few plays, but then they’re using Robert Turbin, who’s pretty similar. They put together an 10-play scoring drive, with 5 runs and 5 passes. Russell Wilson goes 4-for-4, with one sack. On touchdown, he fumbles the snap, but is able to pick it up and then hit Jermaine Kearse for a 12-yard touchdown.
7-0 Seahawks
Denver starts second drive at the 20. After 2 plays, Manning hits Demaryius Thomas for a 16-yard gain. On the next play, he connects with Julius Thomas for 20, but Brandon Browner punches the ball out. Seahawks ball at their 46.
Seattle’s second drive. Wilson hits Golden Tate for 33 yards, then drive bogs down. Hauschka field goal.
10-0 Seahawks
Denver’s third drive starts at the 20. Manning has completed his last 4 passes, for 45 yards. Now he takes the Broncos 80 yards out of a shotgun offense. Julius Thomas has 18- and 31-yard receptions (this is the game where it becomes clear that he, not Tamme or Dreessen, is going to be Denver’s tight end). Welker has 12- and 11-yard receptions, including the touchdown. A few runs mixed in by Hillman and Montee Ball.
10-7 Seahawks
Jermaine Kearse returns ensuring kickoff 107 yards for a touchdown. Kearse was just a practice guy in 2012. This is the game where it become apparent he can be one of the receivers they actually put on the field. His second touchdown.
17-7 Seahawks
Denver’s fourth drive starts at the 20. Hillman fumbles on first play but is able to recover it. Manning is able to drive them down to the goal line, with connections of 10 to Decker and 13 and 23 to Demaryius Thomas. On second-and-goal from the 1, Hillman fumbles. Picked up in the end zone by Brandon Brower, he returns it 106 yards for a touchdown.
24-7 Seahawks
Denver’s fifth drive starts at the 28. Two Manning incompletions and a run by Ball. And Denver’s first-unit offense is done for the day.
Seattle next drive starts at Denver’s 28 (set up by 33-yard punt return by Golden Tate). It’s a three-and-out followed by a field goal.
27-7 Seahawks
Denver, with Brock Osweiler at quarterback, has a three-and-out. Then Seattle has a three-and-out.
On Denver’s next possession, Osweiler fumbles on a sack, setting up Seattle at the 38. Russell Wilson is able to drive them in, hitting Sean McGrath with a 3-yard touchdown with 37 seconds left in the half. McGrath winds up starting some games for Kansas City. Hauschka hits extra point off the upright.
33-7 Seahawks at halftime
Second half I don’t care about. Played mostly by a bunch of guys who aren’t even in the league anymore. Final was Seattle 40, Denver 10.
So what did we learn from this game?
Most notably (I think) Manning had the ball five times. He drove it well on three of them. They had the 80- and 79-yard drives, and they were crossing midfield when Julius Thomas had the fumble. So despite the lopsided score, I did see some ability to move the ball. Manning finished with a passer rating for 122.7. And note that this was on the road, with the CenturyLink crowd revved up as if it was a regular-season game.
For Seattle, Brandon Browner came up with the two big defensive plays of the half, punching the ball out of Julius Thomas’ hands and picking up the other fumble and going 106 yards. The Seahawks have depth at cornerback and have other good guys, but it would really nice for them if Browner were still around (the league suspended him indefinitely a month ago). At 6-4 and 221, Browner matches up well against big receivers, and the Broncos have Decker and Demaryius Thomas outside.
The Seahawks played OK on offense in this half. They were working with limited possession because of the touchdowns scored on kickoff and fumble returns. Wilson went 8 of 12 for 127 yards, with 2 TDs, no interceptions and one sack. That’s a passer rating for 141.3. Marshawn Lynch is obviously a key part of Seattle’s offense, but with those violent, high-contact runners, it serves no purpose to get them beat up in the preseason. He carried twice for 1 yard.
My initial lean on this game is that it’s weather dependent. If the conditions are good, it’s tough for any defense (even one as good as Seattle’s) to stop the Denver offense. If the conditions are lousy, I believe the Seahawks will win.