Top 5 Offensive Performances in Seahawks' Super Bowl History

With Super Bowl LVI on the horizon, Ty Dane Gonzalez looks back on the Seahawks' five best offensive performances in the big game.

Since entering the conference in 2002, no NFC team has appeared in more Super Bowls than the Seahawks. And with a Bengals win over the Rams this Sunday, they would remain the only NFC West team to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy in that time. 

Though two of their three trips to the big game have ended in disappointment, there have been several individual performances worth remembering from each one. Let's take a step into the ol' time machine and look back at the Seahawks' five best offensive outings in the Super Bowl. 

5. WR Joe Jurevicius, Super Bowl XL

Playing in his second career Super Bowl, Jurevicius capped off his lone season with the Seahawks—one that saw him post career-highs in touchdowns (10) and receptions (55)—in terrific fashion. Targeted eight times by quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, he nearly hit the century mark in yardage with a team-leading 93 receiving yards on five catches. This includes an 11-yard, first-quarter connection to put Seattle in the red zone for an ice-breaking field goal by kicker Josh Brown. Unfortunately, that would be the only time the team held a lead all evening long, as the Steelers—and some controversial officiating—controlled the narrative from there. 

4. RB Shaun Alexander, Super Bowl XL

Fresh off a record-setting, MVP-winning regular season, Alexander's solid night in Detroit was ultimately overshadowed by the chaotic nature of Super Bowl XL. It was a far cry from some of the monster performances he put together in 2005, but 95 yards on 20 carries—good for an efficient 4.75 yards per attempt—is a quality showing in the biggest of big games. However, with zero rush attempts in the red zone and Seattle's offense in desperation mode for much of the second half, opportunities to take the game over were few and far between for Alexander.

3. QB Russell Wilson, Super Bowl XLVIII

Because the game never fell on his shoulders at any given point, it's hard to truly evaluate Wilson's Super Bowl XLVIII performance. Seattle's offense accounted for just 13 of the team's first 29 points on the night, as Wilson completed nine of 15 passes for 94 yards in the first half. He went on to add a touchdown pass in each of the third and fourth quarters, respectively, but things had gotten so out of hand by that point that both were ultimately inconsequential to the result. That said, an 18-of-25, 206-yard, two-score effort by a second-year passer making his Super Bowl debut is still impressive in itself. 

2. WR Chris Matthews, Super Bowl XLIX

From security guard to Super Bowl hero in a 12-month span, Matthews' story is one deserving of 250-plus pages and a hard cover. After logging just 19 offensive snaps all season long, the 6-foot-5, 228-pound wideout suddenly became a fixture for the Seahawks on the biggest stage. Unprepared for the matchup, the Patriots were torched for 109 yards on four catches, including a touchdown in the closing seconds of the first half to knot things up at 14 points apiece. Had the game ended differently, Matthews would be celebrated as a cult hero in the city of Seattle. Instead, one of the most unlikely, storybook breakouts in NFL history will forever be outweighed by heartbreak.

1. RB Marshawn Lynch, Super Bowl XLIX

Seattle's best offensive performance in any Super Bowl is also its most heart-wrenching. For many, Lynch's storied career has unfortunately become synonymous with Super Bowl XLIX—not for what he did, but for what he didn't get the chance to do. Prior to the infamous one-yard line fiasco, "Beast Mode" tallied 102 hard-fought yards on the ground and gave the Seahawks their first points with a three-yard touchdown in the second quarter. He also added a 31-yard catch-and-run to kickstart Seattle's final drive of the night, only to see his second ring slip through his fingers as Wilson fired a goal-line interception into the arms of Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler. To this day, it's hard not to wonder what could have been if Lynch was afforded at least one more carry that night. Nevertheless, an otherwise signature game by the potential Hall of Fame running back should not be marred or invalidated by hypotheticals. 

Honorable Mentions

QB Russell Wilson, Super Bowl XLIX: Wilson completed just 12 passes in total and didn't really get going until the second quarter, but he made some brilliant plays when needed. However, it's the one he didn't make that trumps everything else. 

QB Matt Hasselbeck, Super Bowl XL: Hampered at times by suspect officiating, Hasselbeck still managed to throw for 273 yards and one touchdown on 26 completions. But a backbreaking red zone interception and the fact his offense only scored 10 points kept him from making the cut on this list. 

WR Jermaine Kearse, Super Bowl XLVIII: Had this game been closer than it was, Kearse's 23-yard touchdown in the third quarter would have gone down as one of the greatest scores in Super Bowl history. Spinning through and bouncing off four Broncos defenders, the University of Washington product would not be denied the end zone to extend the Seahawks' lead to 36 points. But that's ultimately the problem here, given that Seattle's first championship in franchise history had already been secured well before that moment. 

WR Doug Baldwin, Super Bowl XLVIII: Leading the team in catches (5) and receiving yards (66), Baldwin also scored an impressive touchdown in which he made several defenders miss. That brought the game to its unusual final score of 43-8, capping off one of the most one-sided affairs in Super Bowl history.