Gary Mihoces

USA TODAY Sports

Russell Wilson was the model of quarterbacking efficiency

He completed 18 of 25 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns

He picked up his game in the second half

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - In the regular season, Russell Wilson didn't throw half as many touchdown passes as future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning. He came into Super Bowl XLVIII as the other quarterback, the kid and the up-and-comer.

But on the field at MetLife Stadium, 25-year-old Wilson was the model of quarterbacking efficiency. Now, he has a Super Bowl title in his second NFL season.

For a third-round draft pick from Wisconsin, who stands 5-11, that's a solid start on a productive career of his own. He's too young to be asked — like Manning was all the time this season — about his legacy. But the opportunity is there for Wilson to make his own winning mark in the seasons ahead with a young Seattle team.

Wilson's stats weren't especially glitzy as he quarterbacked the Seattle Seahawks to a 43-8 victory against Manning and the Denver Broncos.

He completed 18 of 25 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed three times for 26 yards.

But he also never made the big mistake or wilt under pressure on the NFL's biggest stage. On a night when Manning was intercepted twice and lost a fumble, Wilson had no turnovers by interception or fumble. He picked up his game in the second half as the Seahawks turned a comfortable advantage into a full-blown rout.

"It's never comfortable when you're playing Peyton Manning," Wilson said. "But my whole thing is stay in the attack mode. That's what I kept telling the guys. And that's why we kept scoring touchdowns and making plays, like Percy Harvin had great night tonight. Our defense was great. Special teams made so many plays it was unbelievable."

It's not the first time a quarterback has won the Super Bowl without big stats.

When Ben Roethlisberger quarterbacked the Pittsburgh Steelers to a win against Seattle in Super Bowl XL in the 2005 season, he completed just nine of 21 passes for 123 yards with two interceptions.

Roger Staubach was the MVP in Super Bowl VI after he completed 12 of 19 passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns in a victory against the Miami Dolphins.

Though Seattle led 22-0 at the half, Wilson's numbers at that point were modest: nine completions in 14 attempts for 94 yards. In the second half, Wilson stepped it up.

"At the end of the season, you want to play your best football," Wilson said. "And that's what we did tonight."

With his stature, there were questions as he entered the draft about whether Wilson could operate as a pocket passer. He was the 75th pick overall in the 2012 draft despite throwing for 33 touchdowns in his senior year at Wisconsin.

Wilson said his dad always told him, "Russ, why not you?"

"And what that meant was believe in yourself," said Wilson. "Believe in the talent God has given you, even though you are 5-11, and you can go a long ways, That's why I decided to play football, and I wanted to go against the odds a little bit."

His mobility is exceptional, but in the second half, he demonstrated his ability to function in the pocket and pick a defense apart. He didn't run much. He instead used his nimble feet to buy time and pick apart the Denver defense with his arm and tight spirals.

In the third quarter, on third-and-7 from the Seahawks' 45-yard line, Wilson converted with a 12-yard pass to tight end Luke Wilson.

On second-and-9 from the Denver 42-yard line, he hit wide receiver Ricardo Lockette for a 19-yard gain.

Then Wilson connected with wide receiver Jermaine Kearse for a 23-yard touchdown. That put the Seahawks up 36-0 with 2:58 left in the third quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, Wilson's 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Doug Baldwin added to the rout. On that drive, Wilson hit five passes in a row for 58 yards.

"It was tremendous," Harvin said of Wilson's play. "It's been tremendous all year. He wants to be great and I don't think he's going to stop until he is great. His work ethic is by far the best I've seen."

In the regular season, Wilson threw for 26 touchdowns and 3,357 yards with nine interceptions. That was a solid season. But the record-setting Manning threw for 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns.

In Super Bowl XLVIII, it was Wilson who found his groove. And he joined the club of Super Bowl winning quarterbacks.

"We believed we could get here," Wilson said. "At the beginning of the season I told our guys, 'Hey, why not us?' We believed we could get here. We had the talent. We had the coaching staff. We have the best fans in the NFL."