The NFL season is only four weeks old, but the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks already seem destined for a showdown in Super Bowl XLVII. And boy, what a game that would be.
In one corner stands the class of the AFC, perhaps the greatest offense the NFL has ever seen. Through four games, 37-year-old Peyton Manning has thrown 16 touchdown passes and zero interceptions. Let that sink in for a moment. One of the best quarterbacks of all time is just now playing the best football of his career.
Don’t believe me? Sports Illustrated’s Peter King had a chart in his Monday Morning Quarterback column that detailed the three best four-game stretches of Manning’s career. His previous best stretch came in 2004, when he completed 74.6 percent of his passes for 1,170 yards, 15 touchdowns, three interceptions and a quarterback rating of 133.5. In the first four games of this season, 10 years later, Manning has completed 75 percent of his passes for 1,470 yards, the aforementioned 16 touchdown and zero picks and a rating of 138.0. Those numbers are simply staggering.
Manning can credit some of that to his brilliant four-headed monster of wide receivers. With Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker outside, Wes Welker in the slot and Julius Thomas at tight end, Manning has the best receiving core he’s ever played with and the best corps in the pass-heavy 2013 NFL. Behind this bevy of offensive weapons, the Broncos have scored 179 points (nearly 45 points per game) and have outscored their opponents by 88.
But how would this vaunted offense fare against the so-called “Legion of Boom” that makes up the Seahawks’ secondary? Seattle has a four-headed monster of its own at the back end of their defense, with cornerbacks Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner and safeties Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor. With the exception of Thomas, each one stands at least 6-foot-3. They are fast, physical and do anything and everything to get their hands on the ball. Throw in Seattle’s rejuvenated pass rush, and Manning and Co. could face a stiff test if the two teams were to meet.
The Broncos best path to the Super Bowl is pretty simple. They have the personnel to outscore any team that stands in their way. The Seahawks can make the Super Bowl because they find ways to win close games.
On Sunday, they pulled out a vintage win on the road in Houston. Trailing 20-3 late in the third quarter, Russell Wilson put the paddles to the chest of the anemic Seattle offense and led the team back to within a touchdown. Then Sherman did his game-breaker thing, intercepting a horrendous Matt Schaub pass and returning it 58 yards for the tying score. The Seahawks would go on to win in overtime on a 45-yard field goal.
The Super Bowl is still a whole 18 weeks away, but this potential clash of the titans will keep fans drooling until then.