Super Bowl XLVIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2013 season. The Seahawks defeated the Broncos 43–8, the largest margin of victory for an underdog and tied for the third largest point differential overall (35) in Super Bowl history with Super Bowl XXVII (1993). It was the first time the winning team scored over 40 points while holding their opponent to under 10. This became the first Super Bowl victory for the Seahawks and the fifth Super Bowl loss for the Broncos, at the time a league record (it would later be tied by the New England Patriots following their Super Bowl LII loss) for the most of any team. The game was played on February 2, 2014, at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the first Super Bowl played outdoors in a cold-weather city and the first Super Bowl to be played on February 2.
The Seahawks posted a 13–3 record and were making their second Super Bowl appearance in nine years. The Broncos were making their seventh Super Bowl appearance after also posting a 13–3 record. This marked one of the few times that two former divisional rivals met in a Super Bowl, as the Seahawks and Broncos were in the same division (the AFC West) from 1977 to 2001.
Seattle led 22–0 at halftime and ultimately went up 36–0 before allowing Denver's first and only score on the final play of the third quarter. The 36–0 lead was by far the largest shutout lead in Super Bowl history; the previous record was 24–0, shared by the Miami Dolphins over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl VIII and the Washington Redskins over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVI. Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril scored a safety on the first play from scrimmage. They became the first team in a Super Bowl to score on a safety (12 seconds into the start of the game which set the record for the quickest score), a kickoff return for a touchdown (12 seconds into the second half), and an interception return for a touchdown. The Broncos were held to almost 30 points below their scoring average. Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, a five-time NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winner, threw two interceptions in the first half. Seahawks linebacker Malcolm Smith, who returned one of those interceptions 69 yards for a touchdown, recovered a fumble and made nine tackles, was named Super Bowl MVP. This is the fourth Super Bowl where the winning team outscored the losing team in every quarter.
In the United States, the game was televised by Fox; with an average audience of 111.5 million viewers that peaked at 115.3 million during the halftime show featuring Bruno Mars. The game was briefly the most-watched U.S. television broadcast of all time, until it was surpassed by Super Bowl XLIX the following year. The game's inaugural Spanish-language telecast on Fox Deportes was also the highest-rated Spanish-language cable telecast outside of soccer. Seattle also tied the 1992 Dallas Cowboys for the third-largest blowout in Super Bowl history, behind Super Bowl XXIV in 1990, a 55–10 San Francisco 49ers victory over the Denver Broncos, and Super Bowl XX in 1986, a 46–10 Chicago Bears victory over the New England Patriots. This was also the first time since 1991 that the #1 scoring offense (Broncos) went up against the #1 scoring defense (Seahawks).
Because the game was one-sided from start to finish, Super Bowl XLVIII is widely regarded as one of the worst and most disappointing Super Bowls of all time, although it is also viewed as a crowning achievement of the Seahawks’ 2013 defense.
Game summary[]
| Team | Conference | 1st Quarter | 2nd Quarter | 3rd Quarter | 4th Quarter | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle Seahawks | NFC | 8 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 43 |
| Denver Broncos | AFC | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
Starting lineups[]
| Seattle Seahawks | Position | Denver Broncos | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | |||
| Doug Baldwin | wide receiver | Demaryius Thomas | |
| Russell Okung | left tackle | Chris Clark | |
| James Carpenter | left guard | Zane Beadles | |
| Max Unger | center | Manny Ramirez | |
| J. R. Sweezy | right guard | Louis Vasquez | |
| Breno Giacomini | right tackle | Orlando Franklin | |
| Alvin Bailey | tackle | tight end | Julius Thomas |
| Zach Miller | tight end | wide receiver | Eric Decker |
| Golden Tate | wide receiver | Wes Welker | |
| Russell Wilson | quarterback | Peyton Manning | |
| Marshawn Lynch | running back | Knowshon Moreno | |
| Defense | |||
| Cliff Avril | left defensive end | Malik Jackson | |
| Michael Bennett | left defensive tackle | defensive tackle | Sylvester Williams |
| Clinton McDonald | right defensive tackle | nose tackle | Terrance Knighton |
| Chris Clemons | right defensive end | Shaun Phillips | |
| K. J. Wright | outside linebacker | strong side linebacker | Nate Irving |
| Bobby Wagner | middle linebacker | Paris Lenon | |
| Walter Thurmond | cornerback | weakside linebacker | Danny Trevathan |
| Richard Sherman | left cornerback | Champ Bailey | |
| Byron Maxwell | right cornerback | Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie | |
| Kam Chancellor | strong safety | Duke Ihenacho | |
| Earl Thomas | free safety | Mike Adams | |
Entertainment[]
Pre-game[]
| Artist | Song(s) |
|---|---|
| Rutgers Scarlet Knights Marching Band Syracuse University Marching Band |
Pre-game show performers |
| Renée Fleming Armed Forces Chorus Amber Zion (American Sign Language interpretation) |
"The Star-Spangled Banner" |
| Queen Latifah New Jersey Youth Chorus |
"America the Beautiful" |
| Joe Namath Phil Simms |
Coin toss ceremony participants |
Halftime[]
- Headliner: Bruno Mars
- Special guests: Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Director: Hamish Hamilton
- Producer: Ricky Kirshner
- Sponsor: Pepsi
Set list[]
| Artist | Song(s) |
|---|---|
| Bruno Mars Children's choir |
"Billionaire" |
| Bruno Mars | Drum solo "Locked Out of Heaven" "Treasure" "Runaway Baby" |
| Bruno Mars Red Hot Chili Peppers |
"Give It Away" |
| Bruno Mars | "Just the Way You Are" (Tribute to the United States Armed Forces) |
Broadcasting[]
United States[]
| Network | Play-by-play announcer | Color commentator(s) | Sideline reporter(s) | Rules analyst(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fox | Joe Buck | Troy Aikman | Pam Oliver and Erin Andrews | Mike Pereira |
| Fox (SAP) Fox Deportes |
John Laguna | Francisco X. Rivera and Brady Poppinga | Tony Santiago and Rodrigo Arana | |
| Westwood One | Kevin Harlan | Boomer Esiason | James Lofton and Mark Malone |
Other programming[]
| Programming type | Program |
|---|---|
| Lead-out programs | New Girl |
| Brooklyn Nine-Nine | |
| Counterprogramming | Puppy Bowl X (Animal Planet) |
| Kitten Bowl (Hallmark Channel) | |
| Fish Bowl (Nat Geo Wild) | |
| Kosher Halftime Show (Nachum Segal Network) |
Commercials[]
| Product type | Advertiser/product |
|---|---|
| Beer | Budweiser |
| Car | Audi |
| Kia | |
| Volkswagen | |
| Car accessories | WeatherTech |
| Film | The Amazing Spider-Man 2 |
| Captain America: The Winter Soldier | |
| Draft Day | |
| The Lego Movie | |
| The Monuments Men | |
| Muppets Most Wanted | |
| Need for Speed | |
| Neighbors | |
| Noah | |
| Pompeii | |
| RoboCop | |
| Transformers: Age of Extinction | |
| Soft drink | Coca-Cola |
| Store | RadioShack |
International[]
| Country | Network |
|---|---|
| Asia | All Sports Network |
| Latin America | ESPN, Fox Sports |
| Middle East and North Africa | OSN Sports |
| Australia | One, Network Ten, ESPN |
| Austria | Puls 4 |
| Belgium | Telenet |
| Brazil | ESPN, Esporte Interativo |
| Bulgaria | ESPN America, Fox |
| Canada | CTV, RDS, TSN Radio |
| Croatia | Arena Sport |
| Czech Republic Hungary Moldova Romania Slovakia |
Sport1 |
| Denmark | TV3+ |
| Finland | Nelonen Pro 1, Nelonen Pro 1 HD, Nelonen Pro 2 |
| France | W9, beIN Sports |
| Germany | Sat.1 |
| Greece | Fox |
| Hong Kong | Now TV |
| Iceland | Stöð 2 Sport |
| Israel | Fox Sports, Sport 5 |
| Italy | Fox Sports 2 HD, Italia 1 HD |
| Japan | NHK BS1 |
| Mexico | Televisa, Fox Sports, TV Azteca, ESPN |
| Netherlands | Fox Sports |
| New Zealand | Sky Television, Sommet Sports |
| Norway | Viasat 4, Viasat Sport |
| Philippines | TV5, AksyonTV |
| Poland | Polsat Sport |
| Portugal | Sport TV |
| Russia | NTV+ |
| Serbia | Arena Sport |
| Spain | Canal+ |
| Sweden | TV10 |
| Switzerland | RTS Deux |
| Turkey | Fox Sports |
| United Kingdom Ireland |
Channel 4, Sky Sports, Absolute Radio 90s |