NFL 2014: Seattle Seahawks - Super Follow-Ups
NFL 2014: Seattle Seahawks - Super Follow-Ups

 

The Seattle Seahawks won the first championship in franchise history last season with a 43-8 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.

"This is an amazing team," says Seattle head coach Pete Carroll, who became the third-oldest head coach to win a Super Bowl (62 years, 140 days). "These guys would not take anything but winning the Super Bowl."

The Seahawks clinched the top seed in the NFC with a 13-3 regular-season record, which included a 7-1 mark at home. Seattle won its eighth division title in franchise history and the team's 13 wins tied the team mark.

"This is the best football team in America," said President Obama during a ceremony at The White House to honor the Super Bowl champions. Seattle's defense led the NFL in points allowed (231), total defense (273.6 yards per game), passing defense (172.0 yards per game), takeaways (39) and interceptions (28) and the club's +20 turnover differential was the best mark in the league.

"Defense wins championships," says Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor, one of the members of Seattle's vaunted "Legion of Boom" secondary. "And you can say that now."

The Seahawks had six players selected to the Pro Bowl: safety Chancellor (2nd), running back Marshawn Lynch (4th), cornerback Richard Sherman (1st), safety Earl Thomas (3rd), center Max Unger (2nd) and quarterback Russell Wilson (2nd).

"This team is all about making history," says Thomas. Thomas had 100 tackles, five interceptions and two forced fumbles last year, the first NFL safety in more than a decade to post those numbers in a single season.

Sherman led the league with eight interceptions in 2013 and his 20 INTs since entering the league in 2011 are the most by any player during that span.

"We etched our names in the record books," says Sherman about Seattle's historical season.

Wilson, who was a third-round pick by the Seahawks in the 2012 NFL Draft, became only the fourth quarterback to win a Super Bowl in his first or second season in the league. He joined Kurt Warner, Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger as the only QBs to accomplish the feat.

"He's so special," says Carroll about Wilson. "He's just a tremendous competitor. And he's going to keep going. There are records this guy is going to continue to knock off." In his first two NFL seasons, Wilson won 24 games, the most by a quarterback in his first two seasons during the Super Bowl era. Including the postseason, he has won 28 games, the most by a quarterback in his first two NFL seasons.

He is also the only player in NFL history to record a 100+ passer rating in both his rookie and second season.

"It's a true blessing," said Wilson about his team after winning the Super Bowl. "We believed we would get here. We wanted to win it all and we just told ourselves we had to go 1-0 each week. That was our mentality throughout the whole season. We continued to fight. We continued to grow together. We have great teammates and I couldn't have done it without these guys."

But can the Seahawks repeat?

Here's how Super Bowl winners fared the following season. Eight Super Bowl winners won the title game the next year and three lost it:

 

Season Super Bowl Winner Next Season
Source: NFL
1966IGreen BayWon Super Bowl
1967IIGreen BayMissed playoffs
1968IIINew York JetsLost in first round
1969IVKansas CityMissed playoffs
1970VBaltimoreLost AFC Championship Game
1971VIDallasLost NFC Championship Game
1972VIIMiamiWon Super Bowl
1973VIIIMiamiLost in first round
1974IXPittsburghWon Super Bowl
1975XPittsburghLost AFC Championship Game
1976XIOaklandLost AFC Championship Game
1977XIIDallasLost Super Bowl
1978XIIIPittsburghWon Super Bowl
1979XIVPittsburghMissed playoffs
1980XVOaklandMissed playoffs
1981XVISan FranciscoMissed playoffs
1982XVIIWashingtonLost Super Bowl
1983XVIIIL.A. RaidersLost Wild Card Game
1984XIXSan FranciscoLost Wild Card Game
1985XXChicagoLost NFC Divisional Playoff Game
1986XXINew York GiantsMissed playoffs
1987XXIIWashingtonMissed playoffs
1988XXIIISan FranciscoWon Super Bowl
1989XXIVSan FranciscoLost NFC Championship Game
1990XXVNew York GiantsMissed playoffs
1991XXVIWashingtonLost NFC Divisional Playoff Game
1992XXVIIDallasWon Super Bowl
1993XXVIIIDallasLost NFC Championship Game
1994XXIXSan FranciscoLost NFC Divisional Playoff Game
1995XXXDallasLost NFC Divisional Playoff Game
1996XXXIGreen BayLost Super Bowl
1997XXXIIDenverWon Super Bowl
1998XXXIIIDenverMissed playoffs
1999XXXIVSt. LouisLost Wild Card Game
2000XXXVBaltimoreLost AFC Divisional Playoff Game
2001XXXVINew EnglandMissed playoffs
2002XXXVIITampa BayMissed playoffs
2003XXXVIIINew EnglandWon Super Bowl
2004XXXIXNew EnglandLost AFC Divisional Playoff Game
2005XLPittsburghMissed playoffs
2006XLIIndianapolisLost AFC Divisional Playoff Game
2007XLIINew York GiantsLost NFC Divisional Playoff Game
2008XLIIIPittsburghMissed playoffs
2009XLIVNew OrleansLost NFC Wild Card Game
2010XLVGreen BayLost NFC Divisional Playoff Game
2011XLVINew York GiantsMissed playoffs
2012XLVIIBaltimoreMissed playoffs

 

Super Bowl Trophy by the Numbers

Immediately following a Super Bowl victory, the winner is presented with the Vince Lombardi Trophy. "Tiffany & Co. creates many of the world's greatest championship trophies, and the Vince Lombardi trophy is certainly one of them," says Victoria Wirth Reynolds, group director of business sales at Tiffany & Co., the trophy's manufacturer. "Made by Tiffany artisans, who use age-old silversmithing techniques from the 1800's, the Vince Lombardi trophy is a lasting tribute to the athletes' dedication and goal of greatness."

After the trophy is presented, it is then returned to Tiffany & Co. for any repairs and the engraving of the Super Bowl team names and the final score onto the base. It then goes back to the winning team for permanent possession.

The particulars of the Vince Lombardi Trophy:

 

Source: NFL
*Including nuts & bolts
** Former Tiffany VP of design
***At least
Weight7 pounds
Height22 inches
Man-hours To Complete72
Made ofSterling silver *
Year Designed1967
First Sketched OnA napkin
Sketched ByOscar Riedener **
Crafted byHand
Made InCumberland, RI
Made ByTiffany
ValuePriceless per 32 NFL teams
Sought Yearly By1,700 players ***

 

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NFL 2014 - Seattle Seahawks - Super Follow-Ups