EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP)— All those records, all for naught.
On Saturday night, Peyton Manning was winning his record fifth NFL Most Valuable Player award. On Sunday night, he endured one of the worst big-game performances of his career.
“Our overall execution wasn’t real sharp–theirs was,” Manning said afterward.
On paper, Manning’s performance didn’t look too bad. He actually completed a Super Bowl record 34 passes out of 49 attempts. But he passed for just 280 yards. Manning threw two interceptions, one returned by Malcolm Smith for a touchdown and the other leading directly to a Seattle TD.
“They made more plays on defense than we did,” Manning said. “I give them credit for that.”
Manning is now 1-2 in Super Bowls. He still trails his brother Eli, the Giants quarterback, who has won two Super Bowl rings.
“It’s a difficult pill to swallow,” said Manning, adding he would use the bitter disappointment to get better next season.
Manning shattered the league record by throwing for 55 touchdowns during the regular season. He also set a mark with 5,477 yards passing in leading the Denver Broncos to a 13-3 record during a record season when the Broncos scored 606 points.
But in the most important game of the season, Manning could produce just one touchdown and that came with his team trailing 36-0.