It ate away at Percy Harvin that almost right after Seattle gave up a first-round pick for him and handed him a $67 million contract, he got hurt. It gnawed at him that after missing almost the entire regular season, he played only a few snaps in the postseason.
He took just 12 seconds to erase those bitter memories on Sunday, took one electrifying game-clinching touchdown to earn his keep, and seal the Seahawks’ 43-8 Super Bowl win over Denver at MetLife Stadium.
Harvin’s 87-yard kickoff return to open the second half gave Seattle a 29-0 lead, and the Broncos never challenged after that. The rest of the game was garbage time en route to the Seahawks’ first title.
“It’s just a big horse off my back. I was finally able to give my team something for four quarters. That meant a lot to me,’’ said Harvin, who played just 19 snaps in the regular season, and then got concussed in the divisional playoff win over New Orleans and missed the NFC Championship win over San Francisco.
“Being injured all season, it took a toll on me. Being able to finish and being able to give my teammates something back — because I leaned on those guys so much this year to keep me up in spirits and just keep me going — it meant the world to me.’’
The play came on a counter-right, a look Seahawks coach Pete Carroll hadn’t shown all season on film. He saved it until the time was right, and the Broncos’ special teams were right for the picking. And Harvin picked them.
“It was amazing,’’ Harvin said. “Those guys had so much belief in me. Even when I wasn’t practicing, those guys were saying you’re going to score on this, and I’m like ‘I’m not even on the field practicing yet.’ Coach Carroll saved that one return for me, hoping we could get a look, and it came through.’’
Seattle caught heat when they coughed up a first-round pick for Harvin, and then handed him a six-year, $67 million deal with $25.5 million in guaranteed money. They caught even more when Harvin hurt his hip during training camp, and got concussed against the Saints.
But finally healthy, he gave them a dynamic they missed all season. He rushed for 45 yards on just two carries in the first quarter, while Denver had just 11 yards. And on the opening kickoff of the second half, he broke his touchdown return.
“That’s the first time anybody’s seen our offense with [No.] 11 out there and returning kicks — second kick return to the house in the Super Bowl — that’s exactly what we expected of him,’’ Richard Sherman said. “He did a great job all week, and our offense, with him at 100 percent, they’re hard to stop.’’