NFL Betting: Seahawks Trounce Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII

The Denver Broncos were the popular choice among NFL betting picks but sadly for bettors and Peyton Manning, they never really had a shot. It’s hard to believe that you could have taken the Broncos +34 on the NFL betting odds and you still would have lost your bet. It was just one of those nights for Denver where everything went wrong. Unfortunately for them, it came at the absolute worst time on the biggest stage possible.

Defense Wins Championships

Among many NFL betting tips, you always hear that defense wins championships. Even so, those who bet on the NFL love to invest in prolific offenses. That being the case, another lesson was taught at Super Bowl 48.

The Seattle Seahawks Legion of Boom defense took care of the Denver Broncos record-setting offense like it was child’s play. The Broncos, who averaged an incredible 37.9 points per game this season, were held to just eight points. They were completely out of sync all night as the physical Seahawks defense made them earn every yard.

The Broncos simply looked shell-shocked. Maybe some of us forgot that they faced one of the easiest schedules this season while the Seahawks had one of the toughest. Denver clearly hadn’t faced any defense as good as the Seahawks and they had no answers. Manning was under pressure all night, the Broncos couldn’t run the ball and no receiver other than Demaryius Thomas was a factor. So much for this multi-faceted offense. Defense wins again.

Broncos Horrendous Start

NFL online betting handicappers knew it could potentially be a long day for the Broncos after the first snap of the game. Manning was not ready for it, the ball flew over his head and skirted back into the Broncos end zone, and Seattle went ahead on a safety just one play into the game.

It only got worse for the Broncos from there as they couldn’t even muster a first down in the entire first quarter. By the end of the first half, they had zero points to show for it. On the flip side, their defense couldn’t get a stop to help them out.

The bad start proved to be ominous. A lot of people betting on the NFL took the Broncos at halftime to bounce back in the second half but that never transpired. The first play and the first quarter provided some good foreshadowing.

Special Teams

NFL football betting handicappers saw special teams have a noticeable impact in this game even though the field goal kickers had a light load. On the first play of the second half, when handicappers were hoping the Broncos defense could get a three-and-out, give the ball back to the offense and give the team a shot to cut into the manageable 22-0 deficit, the special teams failed them. Percy Harvin returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and essentially put the nail in the Broncos coffin. Coming back from 22-0 was possible had the Broncos properly regrouped and adjusted at halftime. However, the return by Harvin deflated the wind in their sales and they never got off the mat after that.

It’s also worth mentioning that the Broncos own return units hampered them as they started inside their own 20 after kickoffs three times.

Turnovers

Turnovers are the ultimate equalizer in the NFL and that was clearly evident at this Super Bowl. The Broncos lost that battle 4-0 and that proved to be the ultimate difference.

Taking a look at the Seahawks offensive numbers, they weren’t anything special. Russell Wilson finished with just 206 yards passing, Marshawn Lynch ran for just 39 yards on 15 carries (2.6 yards per carry) and no receiver had more than 66 yards. If you didn’t watch the game and just saw those numbers, you’d have a tough time figuring out how they scored 43 points. Seattle had 26 points off of turnovers and that was the story of the game.