Denver Broncos tight end Julius Thomas has insisted that the Seattle Seahawks do not deserve as much praise as they are getting for their 48-3 win over his side in the Super Bowl last season.

Thomas said that his side deserve more criticism because it was a failed offensive performance rather than a particularly strong show on defense from the Seahawks.

"I think a lot of talk has been made about how physical a defense is, and I know that can have an effect on the offense," Thomas told The Denver Post. "But I don't think that their defense is so much more physical than some defenses we've played.

"I think more so was what we didn't do, the things we left out there - than them being physical."

Thomas started 14 of the Broncos' regular-season games last term.