Super Bowl XLVIII Storylines Start with Peyton Manning

10 Biggest Factors for Super Bowl XLVIII (ESPN - Clayton)

Who's No. 1? In Super Bowl XLVIII, aces are wild.

The Denver Broncos had the No. 1 offense in the regular season. The Seattle Seahawks had the No. 1 defense. Both teams were the No. 1 seeds in their conferences.

And the No. 1 story is Peyton Manning, returning to the Super Bowl for the third time and trying to earn his second ring. For the NFL, it doesn't get any better than that.

In the big picture, it's also an amazing shift. About four years ago, the AFC West and NFC West were the two worst divisions in the league. John Elway, who made the Broncos a Super Bowl contender as a player, has proved to be equally successful as a front-office executive.

He signed Manning, produced 13 regular-season wins in two consecutive years and now is hoping to get another ring.

Pete Carroll completely turned around the Seahawks, modeling the rebuild on his restoration of USC into a national power. He's going for his first Super Bowl win as a coach.

Here are the 10 most important questions for Super Bowl XLVIII.

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