Running back Marshawn Lynch’s one-yard touchdown run and linebacker Malcolm Smith’s 69-yard interception return helped Seattle into a deserved and big 22-0 lead at half time and in the end it was a one-sided affair, five-time MVP Peyton Manning’s Broncos frozen out on what was a cold night on and off the pitch.

“We’ve been relentless all season,” Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson said. “Having that mentality of having a Championship day every day.

“We believed that we could get here. At the beginning of the season I told our guys, ‘Hey, why not us?’

“We had the talent. We had the coaching. We have the best fans in the National Football League. We wanted to win it all.”

Denver Broncos quarterback Manning has long been accused of choking when it really counts in the play-offs and has now lost 12 of 23 post-season games – more than any other player in NFL history.

It is Seattle’s first NFL championship title.

Image credit: Getty