The very first move of the game was a complete disaster. The snap, the backwards pass from the center to the quarterback that begins a play, completely backfired – literally. The slow motion of a completely surprised Manning watching the football fly past his head is legendary. The quarterback wanted to make tactical adjustments, but his teammate didn’t notice because of the noise from the 12s. The Broncos were still able to secure the ball, but only at the expense of a so-called safety. They were stopped in their own end zone by the Seahawks and Seattle scored two points and gained possession.
Defense wins championships
This set the tone for the final. The next time the Broncos got possession of the ball, things didn’t go much better. Manning threw a pass to his star receiver Demaryius Thomas, who was crossing the middle of the field. In the past few months, this had always been the moment when Thomas stepped up a gear and left his opponents behind.
Kam Chancellor, the powerhouse of the Seahawks pass defense, caught Thomas shortly after the catch and hit him so cleanly that the receiver was catapulted back yards. By now it was clear that it would be a long day of work for the Broncos, as Seattle’s defense wanted to live up to their Legion of Boom nickname.
