Storyline: The Best Meets the Best
Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Super Bowl XLVIII features a couple of relative rarities.
For the first time since 2009, the top seeds from both the AFC and NFC will meet in the Super Bowl. In fact, it's only the second time in the past two decades that's happened.
It also marks only the sixth time since the NFL merger that the NFL's top offense will face the league's top defense in football's biggest game.
It's a matchup that has historically favored the defense. The team with the top defense won four of the past five meetings, the last coming when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers demolished the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII.
Of course, none of those teams had to go up against the 2013 Denver Broncos.
The Broncos racked up an eye-popping 606 points this year, an all-time high. Their 7,317 net yards marked only the third time in NFL history a team eclipsed the 7,000-yard mark.
In true Richard Sherman fashion, the outspoken cornerback told Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times the Seahawks' defense wouldn't have it any other way:
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They’re an unbelievable, record-setting offense with a Hall of Fame quarterback. That’s as tough as it gets. That’s as tough a game as you can get in the Super Bowl. The number one defense against the number one offense. It doesn’t happen like this too often; both number one seeds make it. It’s a testament to the hard work of both teams, and I’m sure it’s going to be a fantastic game.
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It's not hard to see why Sherman is confident.
The Seattle defense, led by their "Legion of Boom" secondary, led the NFL in a laundry list of categories this season.
No team allowed fewer yards. Or passing yards. Or points.
It's strength against strength. Godzilla against King Kong.
Football fans couldn't ask for a better game.
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