Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman boasted this week that the defense knew which plays the Denver Broncos would run before they happened in Super Bowl XLVIII.
Sherman told the mmqb.com that the defense figured out Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning’s hand signals during the Seahawks’ 43-8 victory on Sunday night in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
“We knew what route concepts they liked on different downs, so we jumped all the routes. Then we figured out the hand signals for a few of the route audibles in the first half,” Sherman said. “If Peyton had thrown in some double moves, if he had gone out of character, we could’ve been exposed.”
Manning threw two interceptions and completed 34 of 49 passes for 280 yards against Seattle’s stout defense. Denver was held scoreless until the end of the third quarter.
“Me, Earl (Thomas), Kam (Chancellor) … we’re not just three All-Pro players. We’re three All-Pro minds,” Sherman said.
The Seahawks also said reading Manning’s eye movements tipped them off to what was coming.
“We were able to jump a few routes,” Chancellor told the Star-Ledger of Newark. “Just see everything that develops in front of you, playing off of Peyton’s eyes. He takes you right to the ball every time.
“He’s a great quarterback, but he definitely has tendencies and he takes you to the ball.”