Richard Sherman: The 49ers Were Our Real Super Bowl Opponents

It goes without saying that Super Bowl XLVIII was devoid of drama. Seattle drubbed Denver from the first snap, and asserted their will on every phase of the game. The championship almost felt inevitable in retrospect.

Except, just two weeks prior, the Seahawks found themselves with their backs against the wall against San Francisco. San Francisco had the lead for most of the game, until Seattle took the 20-17 lead early in the fourth quarter. Even on the final drive in the last minute, Advanced NFL Stats’ win probability chart had the outcome knotted at 50/50 after Colin Kaepernick completed a pass to Vernon Davis inside the Seattle 20 yard line, giving San Francisco that first down that would end in the deciding interception.

While the characteristically outspoken Richard Sherman certainly wouldn’t be expected to admit the team had a 50% chance to lose, the level of competition was not lost on him. “The NFC Championship was the Super Bowl,” said Sherman, via MMQB’s Robert Klemko. “The 49ers were the second-best team in the NFL.”

With the 49ers looming in the same division, a number of key Seahawks up for new deals (Walter Thurmond and Michael Bennett right away and Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman, Russell Okung, and Russell Wilson all within the next two years), and ever-present injury risk, the idea that this Super Bowl victory was a dynastic coronation would be severely premature.

[Photo by Sacramento Bee via Getty Images]