NFL Anti-Picks Summary

Record, Super Bowl XLVIII: 0-1
Overall Record: 49-67-2
Total Outlay, Super Bowl XLVIII: $1,350.00
Total Winnings, Super Bowl XLVIII: $0
Loss, Super Bowl XLVIII: $1,350.00
Overall Loss: $2,564.75

Well, that sucked.

First of all, sorry I haven't updated this until now.  I hope you can understand partially why I decided not publish the results of this until now, although I also have been busy.

First of all, checking back at the score (Seattle 43, Denver 8) I don't realize until now how close I was to winning my bet of Under 48.  I remember my heart sinking when I saw Peyton Manning finally break the end line, score a touchdown for the Broncos and break their cherry.  But that was not the score that pushed the total of the Super Bowl above the O/U; it was the ensuing touchdown on the next possession, when Seattle Russell Wilson threw to Doug Baldwin, that did that.

Well, with the way Seattle kept scoring at will before then, I kind of thought I was in big trouble.  I, and I'm guessing everybody else in the entire world, didn't expect a shit-kicking, although with the way every Super Bowl in the past two decades or so have been at least mildly intriguing through the fourth quarter, I guess we were due a clunker.  But I did not expect the game to be decided when Manning had the ball.  That matched up Denver's offense against Seattle defense -- strength vs. strength.  I thought that particular theater would be played to a draw, and therefore the Super Bowl would turn on either the Seahawks offense or the Broncos defense.

Instead, the Legion of Boom just detonated all over Manning and his Wide Receivers.  Although Manning passed for 280 yards, Seattle's D picked him off twice, one a 69-yard pick-six by Sam Smith.  The LOB also recovered two fumbles and stripped Denver of two more that the Broncos recovered.  Although Demaryius Thomas caught for 118 yards and was on the receiving end of that touchdown, and Wes Welker racked up 84 yards, the Denver WRs had little to no daylight to get those Yards After Catch they relied on all season.  And the offense just weren't firing on cylinders all game.  That safety on the first offensive play of the game, giving Seattle the early 2-0 lead, seemed to send Denver on a downward spiral.

Oh, and I shouldn't forget Percy Harvin's second half-opening kickoff return for a TD.  If Super Bowl XLVIII wasn't over at halftime, it certainly was 12 seconds into it.  Seattle's defense and special teams accounted for 16 of Seattle's 43 points, doubling Denver's total.  I guess that was the story of the game.

Not to say that Seattle's offense was totally out of the picture.  They scored three touchdowns, two of them on passes by Wilson, but he only threw for 206 yards.  Two field goals in the first quarter Steven Hauschka were indications that the Broncos D was able to bend, not break.  But Seattle's D stifled Manning and the offense, and the ensuing turnovers and ensuing points ensured that Denver was done early.

So was I.  My last-ditch effort to escape the red hole failed because I fell in love with the image of a cold, outdoor setting shutting down offenses and scoring.  The Meadowlands site was a rousing success in part because there wasn't any precipitation.  Hopefully that means many more cold-weather Super Bowls outdoor, which Nature intended.

Nevertheless, I finish the year losing $2,500.  I at least am heartened by the fact that I in reality did not bet this money, therefore I didn't really lose $2,500.  What I do have, however, is the shame that I would have lost that amount of money if I were so bold/stupid in making these picks all season long.