Super Bowl XLVIII

ROUND	QB	Opponent	MoV	QB Support	TAVA
SUPERBOWL	R. Wilson	Broncos	35	6.73	1.22
SUPERBOWL	P. Manning	Seahawks	-35	-0.94	-1.02

Super Bowl, Seahawks vs. Broncos:

Russell Wilson had his best game of the playoffs, but it really wasn’t necessary. Consider this: after the kick-off to open the second half, the Seahawks were up 29-0, and Russell Wilson had only thrown for 94 yards (and ran for 10). Wilson played mistake free football, and converted a number of key third down passes. He did everything you would want a second year QB to do on the big stage. His TAVA score (1.22) reflects that. It’s not higher because, frankly, almost none of it was necessary. His teammates rushed for over 100 yards, he had great field position, and the defense and special teams scored DOUBLE the points that they allowed. This was a team win all the way, and it’s hard to imagine that replacing Wilson with any starting NFL QB (or back-up for that matter) would have changed the result.

On the opposite side of the field, was the opposite story. Manning couldn’t solve the Seattle defense, but he certainly didn’t get much help. There was no reason whatsoever for Seattle to honor the run (27 yards on 2.5 YPC). Denver could not stop points from flowing in, and Manning was asked to do too much against the league’s best defense. Manning’s mistakes helped make this game a blowout (and lead to a poor TAVA score), but even close to perfect QB play might not have been enough.