Super Bowl XLVIII started out bad for the Denver Broncos . The Seattle Seahawks made sure it got worse . Seattle romped 43-8 by playing a suffocating defense and taking advantage of four Denver turnovers , including two interceptions thrown by quarterback Peyton Manning , the NFL 's most valuable player for the season . The game pitted pro football 's best offense , Denver , against the best defense , Seattle , but the drama disappeared early at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford , New Jersey . On the first play from scrimmage , a bad snap went sailing past Manning and landed in the end zone for a safety , giving Seattle a 2-0 lead without running a play . Denver did n't score until the third quarter , when the game was out of reach . Seattle 's defense was so strong that Denver managed only 27 yards rushing , compared with 135 for Seattle . Manning went 34 for 49 to gain 279 yards in the air , but most passes were for short yardage with his receivers quickly taken down . His counterpart , Russell Wilson of Seattle , went 18 for 26 to gain 206 yards and score two touchdowns . Fittingly , a Seattle defensive player , linebacker Malcolm Smith , was named the game 's most valuable player . Seattle won its first Super Bowl in franchise history . Manning was thwarted in his quest for a second Super Bowl ring . After the safety , Seattle kicked two field goals , and Marshawn Lynch scored on a 1-yard run for a touchdown . The Seahawks ' Smith intercepted Manning 's second interception and returned it for another touchdown . The second half started out bad for Denver , with Seattle 's Percy Harvin running the opening kickoff back for a touchdown . Jermaine Kearse caught a 23-yeard pass from Russell Wilson with 2:58 left in the third quarter for another touchdown . Wilson threw his second scoring strike to Doug Baldwin with 11:45 left in the fourth . Just before the third quarter ended , Denver got onto the scoreboard when Manning threw a 14-yard pass to Demaryius Thomas . Denver went for a two-point PAT to make the score 36-8 . Denver , led by the 37-year-old Manning , has the NFL 's best offense , statistically , but never got moving Sunday . Richard Sherman , the Seattle defense player who mocked San Francisco after winning the NFC championship , was never really challenged . He left with an injury in the fourth quarter . Balmy conditions on Game Day . Though the game did n't experience the blackout that hit last year 's Super Bowl , fans in Los Angeles had their own visual blackout . Some fans lost cable service for a period and missed part of the second half and the halftime show , starring Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers . Time Warner cable said in a tweet that the issue was resolved before the end of the game . A man was shot several times during a Super Bowl party at a residence in Denver , police said . The man was found outside the home , but police spokesman Sonny Jackson did not have additional information , such as what led to the shooting . The man was taken to a hospital in critical condition , and authorities do not have a suspect or a suspect description . The experts ' picks . History of the Super Bowl : By the numbers . The secrets of the Super Bowl flyover .
Seattle surprises and takes advantage of Denver 's mistakes . League MVP Peyton Manning throws two interceptions . This was the first Super Bowl appearance in Seattle 's franchise history . No Seattle franchise has previously played in a Super Bowl .