PEYTON MANNING’S RECORD-setting Denver Broncos pass attack will face the Seattle Seahawks in next month’s Super Bowl showdown after both teams captured tense home playoff triumphs yesterday.
Seattle, who boast the best defense in NFL, forced three turnovers in the fourth quarter to beat San Francisco 49ers 23-17 in the National Conference final while Manning led the Broncos over the New England Patriots 26-16 in the American Conference final.
After sharing the NFL’s best record at 13-3 in the regular season, the Broncos and Seahawks will meet in Super Bowl 48 on February 2nd in suburban New York.
It will be Denver’s seventh trip to the Super Bowl but the first since the Broncos’ only wins in 1998 and 1999, and the second visit for the Seahawks, who lost to Pittsburgh in 2006.
“This feels even sweeter,” Seahawks owner Paul Allen said.
The Seahawks trailed until the fourth quarter, when Russell Wilson connected with Jermaine Kearse on a 35-yard touchdown pass to put Seattle ahead to stay and the hosts took away the ball from the 49ers three times.
“This is really special,” said Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. “This team was ready to finish. They knew we weren’t in the lead. That didn’t matter. They were going to come out here and do what they needed to do.”
Seattle Seahawks’ Doug Baldwin celebrates
Pic: Matt Slocum/AP/Press Association Images
Manning, who set one-season NFL passing yardage and touchdown records last month for the most prolific scoring offense in NFL history, completed 32-of-43 passes for 400 yards and two touchdowns.
“It’s very rewarding when you put in so much hard work and it pays off with the win in a big game,” Manning said.
“We’ve kept our nose to the grindstone, kept persevering and it feels great to get this win.”
New England’s Tom Brady leads the all-time rivalry with Manning 10-5 but fell to 2-2 in their playoff meetings, which in each prior case were taken by the eventual Super Bowl champion.
“We just didn’t make enough plays,” Brady said. “We dug a pretty big hole and they played really well. Peyton played great. They just made more plays than we did. They were certainly the better team today.”
The 49ers, who lost last year’s Super Bowl to Baltimore, saw their hopes end on Malcolm Smith’s interception with 22 seconds remaining.
“It was a 15-round fight,” 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said. “It was a great fight by our guys… A man can be destroyed. He can’t be defeated.”
Broncos coach John Fox, who underwent heart surgery in November and steered Carolina to the Super Bowl 10 years ago, said: “I couldn’t be prouder of a group of men in my life.”
Denver’s Matt Prater kicked four field goals while Manning flipped touchdown passes of 1 yard to Jacob Tamme and 3 yards to Demaryius Thomas.
The Patriots, in their first road playoff game since 2007, fell behind 13-3 at half-time and Brady, who rallied the Patriots from a 24-0 deficit to defeat Denver in the regular season for the greatest comeback of his career, struggled most of the day against Denver’s defenders.
New England pulled within 13 points on Brady’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Julian Edelman with 9:26 remaining but Prater added a 54-yard field goal for a 26-10 Denver edge.
Brady scored on a 5-yard run with 3:07 to play, but Denver’s defense stopped Shane Vereen’s 2-point conversion run attempt to create the final margin and the Broncos ran out the clock from there.
The Denver Broncos celebrate
Pic: Julie Jacobson/AP/Press Association Images
At Seattle, the 49ers took a 10-0 lead on Phil Dawson’s 25-yard field goal and a 1-yard Anthony Dixon touchdown plunge that was set up by a 58-yard run by quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
In front of a raucous Seattle crowd, Steven Hauschka kicked a 32-yard field goal to pull the Seahawks within 10-3 at half-time.
Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch broke up the middle and ran 40 yards for a touchdown to lift the hosts level.
San Francisco responded when Kaepernick connected with Anquan Boldin on a 26-yard touchdown pass to put the 49ers ahead 17-10.
Hauschka kicked a 40-yard field goal to pull Seattle within 17-13 after three quarters, then Wilson tossed the go-ahead TD pass to Kearse and Hauschka added a 47-yard field goal for the final points.
Kaepernick drove the 49ers toward a potential winning touchdown late in the game but Seattle’s Richard Sherman, who led the NFL with eight interceptions, deflected a pass into Smith’s hands to end the threat.
“That’s as sweet as it gets,” Sherman said. “We knew we had to finish it off.”
The NFL championship spectacle at East Rutherford, New Jersey, will be the first in Super Bowl history staged outdoors in a cold-climate city.
The weather forecast is for the coldest conditions in Super Bowl history with a chance of rain or snow showers and temperatures between 37 and 25 degrees Fahrenheit (3 to minus 4 Celsius).
I don’t remember Ali ever dodging a fight for about 5 years like Mayweather!
The lead up to the fight has been a failure. People have become both bored and annoyed by how long the fight’s taking to progress to an agreement, so it’s almost like it’s too late to drum up the hype that would have come naturally to it in 2009-12.
So they’ve to come out with this these tripe statements just to fuel the media outlets who are as bored as the public with it all.
3-5 years ago I’d have bought the PPV, now I’ll just watch the highlights in bed the next morning.
pat look at his record of wins ko’s and world titles at different weights this fella dosent have to dodge anyone it’s all about the purse, are you suggesting he’s fearful of Manny?
Mayweather is a genius of a boxer but his intelligence is confined to the ring alone. Such brainless comments from a guy with zero class. He also described how he has had it as tough as Ali in his public life, laughable stuff!
Mayweather is not the greatest…but neither is Ali…
Simon that is an absolutely ridiculous comment. And to have someone back it up is even more ridiculous. I love boxing and boxers from all eras. But for you to say Ali is considered great because he talked a lot and then he got sick is one of the dumbest comments I have ever seen. He is regarded by most experts as one of the greatest as he was, end of story. Jesus lads get a grip. He doesn’t have to be your number one but don’t make stupid comments when his record speaks for itself.
he’s right John Ali’s record does not even compare to Larry Holmes who’s career was overshadowed by Ali’s persona as I said first John Ali was a great and a lot of that greatness was from his out of ring antics but a great all the same.
2 things Paul, I agree it can be argued about different records in different eras, Holmes was class but he wasn’t as good IMO as Ali, Liston, Frazier or Foreman but he came just after them. He didn’t fight anyone of the same quality so not sure how you can say his record is better, it’s different times. Simon said most people just go along with it as he shouted and and they agreed, and then though the years they called him a great because he got sick and they felt sorry for him? Brainless comment, and an insult to real boxing fans.
I never said he wasn’t in the conversation. He definitely was up there. You make it sound like I said he was completely average. What I am saying is there are ALOT of people out there who give him the edge as #1 for reasons that have very little to do with boxing. They like him because he was funny , rebellious and ultimately because he got sick and everyone felt sorry for him. People get offended when someone points it out but it’s true.
I’m not arguing with you John as your points are valid it’s hard to compare eras Tyson for example beat a lot of very average fighters mind you he battered them ( berbeck ,Michael spinks bonecrusher Smith) to name but a few .
Whisht the lot of ye……….3 words…..Big Joe Joyce………
big Joe would bate all round him.
Paul I have already said that Mayweather is a genius but even if he wins you cannot say he is without doubt the greatest of all time, it just isn’t that simple. Mayweather made some ridiculous statements like dismissing the rope a dope and claimed he has had it tougher than Ali, including racial matters in the current climate. Totally braindead stuff! For what it’s worth I have only seen videos but by all accounts from the experts Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest, and probably Ali second, I wouldn’t disagree with that.
Ali was considered the greatest because he was a showman and I loved watching him fight no doubt about that, but his record dosent stack up against mayweather who does makes some silly comments but that’s par for the course for most boxer’s.
Not only was ali the greatest boxer of all time, he was and remains to be the greatest sportsman who’s ever lived. Deal with it
that settles that so Don it must be right if you said it.
Right on paul, right on
mayweather record speaks for itself when he batters Pac man which he will he will retire as the undisputed greatest fighter of all time, his point about Leon spinks is correct a fellow of his standard would not be allowed into watch mayweather let alone fight and beat him.
I think Ali is considered the greatest by alot of people because he seemed to shout it to people the most and people just shrugged and said alright then because he could talk. They also say it because he got sick and loads of people have been patronizing him for the last 30 years. The greatest of all time is a matter for opinion and if you disagree then that’s fine. But he definitely has been patronized far too much. Mayweather said as much in an interview a few years ago too and he was right.
100% simon