Super Bowl XLVIII: Post Game Recap and What’s Next for the Chiefs

If you saw that coming, you are a very rich person. I don’t think a single person in the world — save for a few overzealous members of the infamous “12th Man” — saw the Seattle Seahawks completely destroying the Denver Broncos 43-8. But, that’s exactly what happened.

It was over nearly before it started. Just :12 seconds into the game, quarterback Peyton Manning tried to make one of famous “line audibles” and the center mistook it for “Omaha” and the ball went flying over Manning’s head. That was a sign for things to come.

The Seahawks didn’t look great in their first couple of series’, stalling in the red zone and settling for field goals on their first few possessions. However, they got going and once they did, they didn’t let up.

The Seahawks “Legion of Boom” didn’t disappoint, and harassed Manning for most of the night, accounting for an interception, a pick six and a pair of fumbles. They hit hard and they hit often, never really allowing Manning to find a rhythm even though he completed a Super Bowl record 33 passes.

In a game that many said was just a formality on Denver’s way to being crowned Super Bowl champions and the greatest team of all time, it turned out to be the coming out party for these “loud mouthed” Seahawks. Russell Wilson looked good, showing great poise considering he’s the largest game of his young (second year) career in the NFL.

As a Chiefs fan, it was nice to watch this game and see the Broncos get beat. As a sportswriter, it got a bit monotonous. As an analyst, I’d like to think that Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and defensive coordinator Bob Sutton are watching this game and will continue to watch it during the entire off season. If any team provided the ultimate blue print on how to completely shut down the Broncos, it was this Seahawks team. Their defense hits hard, takes good angles to the ball and gets after the quarterback.

Next year is a new year and all the teams will look different. The Broncos will likely not have their “four horsemen” as receiver Eric Decker is a free agent next month and will likely leave town when the Broncos can’t afford him.

If history is a teacher, perhaps Manning should retire now. In the 2009 NFC Championship game, then Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre lost to the ultimate Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints. He finished the greatest season of his career one game short of the big stage. Thinking he would come back to make “one more go,” Favre returned for the next season and went out on the bottom of the league, injured and dejected.

Could this be what’s in store for Peyton Manning? At 37, he’s not getting any younger. This was probably his best chance to win that elusive second Super Bowl and he let it slip by. The national media crowned him and  his team the “greatest thing in the NFL” after the first week of the regular season. Can a team truly maintain that level of play two seasons in a row? Will many of the primary players be back next season? These are all questions that will be answered in the days, weeks and months ahead as the off season truly gets under way starting tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, do you know what the best part of February 3 is?

Everyone is now 0-0 for the 2014 season and the Kansas City Chiefs are now tied with the Denver Broncos for first place in the AFC West. Let that sink in.

It was a helluva season, Addicts. Here’s to great things in 2014.

Congrats to the Seattle Seahawks on a great win. But here at AA we’re red and gold until we’re dead and cold.

GO CHIEFS!