National Football League

Seahawks' offense grows up before our eyes in Super Bowl rematch

Published Sep. 21, 2014 10:12 p.m. ET

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Alex Marvez

Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin was trying not to get carried away about the importance of Sunday's 26-20 overtime victory over Denver.

He couldn't help himself.

"I don't want to overhype it," Baldwin said when I asked him after the game. "But tonight was a special night."

It wasn't just winning the rematch of Super Bowl XLVIII that had Baldwin grinning in front of his locker at CenturyLink Field. It was how the Seahawks salvaged a triumph that almost slipped through their fingers.

Seattle captured a championship last season primarily because of its defense. Not that the 2013 Seahawks were lousy on offense by any means -- especially when routing Denver 43-8 to win the franchise's first Lombardi Trophy. But it's entirely possible that unit would have fallen short if placed in the same challenging spot as this year's group was Sunday: winning a game in overtime by ensuring a future Hall of Fame quarterback never had the chance to take the field.

After struggling throughout the entire game, Denver's offense finally came to life when it seemed defeat was inevitable. The Seahawks opened a 20-12 lead with 59 seconds remaining until Peyton Manning worked his magic.

He dropped a 42-yard pass into the arms of wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders that also resulted in Seahawks strong safety Kam Chancellor knocking cornerback Marcus Burley out of the game with a misplaced blow. A discombobulated secondary then surrendered a 12-yard strike to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and 26-yard scoring pass to tight end Jacob Tamme with 12 seconds remaining. Thomas subsequently got inside Pro Bowl cornerback Richard Sherman to catch the two-point conversion attempt that tied the score.

"We let the offense down," Sherman said. "We should have never let a drive like that happen in a game like this. We had them bottled up the whole game."

Fortunately for Sherman and his defense, what happened at the end of regulation ultimately didn't matter.

The Seahawks (2-1) won the coin toss and never looked back thanks to the quarterback on their side of the field who proceeded to play like a league MVP.

Before the Seahawks took their first snap in overtime, Russell Wilson spoke to his offense on the sideline.

"It was really calm," Seahawks left guard James Carpenter told me. "We just wanted to keep doing what we were doing. There was no need to go crazy. Russell came up to us and said, 'We're still going to win it.'"

Baldwin acknowledges the Seahawks of old might not have approached the situation with as much confidence. The fact they did is a testament to the unit's maturity from having worked together for an extended period of time as well as comfort and trust among the players.

"It was no different than when we got out of the huddle in the first quarter," said Baldwin, who finished with four catches for a team-high 56 yards. "We were all calm. We were all focused.

"We knew what the situation was. All we had to do was go out and execute our game plan."

The Seahawks did just that with Wilson meticulously moving the Seahawks downfield with his arm and legs before running back Marshawn Lynch finished the 14-play, 80-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown run.

"I was almost hoping it would happen that we would get the ball," said Wilson, who completed 24 of 34 passes for 258 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. "I couldn't wait for those big time moments where you have to go up and down the field and make plays and guys believe in what we're doing.

"It was a great feeling. It definitely felt like a Super Bowl matchup."

It very well could be again in February.

Denver (2-1) looked much improved on defense from its Super Bowl flop. The unit helped trigger the comeback with two big fourth-quarter plays -- a safety when Lynch was tackled in the end zone followed by a Chris Harris Jr. interception that Manning converted into a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Julius Thomas. And even though he made a huge gaffe when getting intercepted by Chancellor just before the two-minute warning, Manning's game-tying drive was yet another reminder that he has led 51 career fourth-quarter and overtime comebacks.

As Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said: "It's still Peyton Manning."

But more importantly Sunday, Seattle still had Denver's number as it took another step toward defense of its Super Bowl crown.

"We took the punches and were able to get back on our feet and keep going," Baldwin said. "We can take the hits.

"It's just unbelievable and speaks loudly about this team."

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