Who’s winning Super Bowl 49?
Super Bowl XLIX (49) is here baby!
Everyone who’s throwing a Super Bowl bash get the drinks and food ready for the guests, make sure you have enough seats for everyone to sit in, and get ready to hear Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth call this one because it’s going to be dandy. Oh yeah, can’t forget about Pop Princess Katy Perry doing her thing at halftime as well. Let’s get to this prediction.
So far, my playoff record stands at 6-4, so whether I get my Super Bowl prediction right or wrong I’m walking away with a playoff record over .500 – which was the goal in the first place, if I might add.
OK, to the game…
Super Bowl XLIX
No. 1 (NFC) Seattle Seahawks (12-4) vs No. 1 (AFC) New England Patriots (12-4)
Sunday February 1, 2015 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona
6:30 p.m. on NBC
We have the No. 1 seed from the NFC in the defending champion Seattle Seahawks and the No. 1 seed from the AFC in the New England Patriots squaring off in Arizona this Sunday. Since 1990, there have been only four times when the two No. 1 seeds have met in the Super Bowl (Buffalo Bills vs Washington Redskins in 1991, Buffalo Bills vs Dallas Cowboys in 1993, Indianapolis Colts vs New Orleans Saints in 2009, Seattle Seahawks vs Denver Broncos in 2013) and the now the Patriots and Seahawks are the fifth pair of No. 1 seeds to meet in The Big Game since 1990. It’s rare but I’m glad we have this matchup. It’s not often in football we get to see the two best teams playing for the championship and when we do, let’s cherish it.
The storylines in this one are certainly juicy and worthwhile. The Seahawks are trying to become the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowl titles since (you guessed it) the New England Patriots in 2003-2004. The Patriots are looking to capture that long-awaited fourth Super Bowl title of the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era and this might be their last best chance at doing it. The Tom Brady-Russell Wilson QB matchup is sizzling. We have one of the greatest defenses ever suiting up in the Legion of Boom Seahawks. The two best cornerbacks in football (Richard Sherman and Darrelle Revis) will be on display.
Pete Carroll is going against the franchise that he used to coach for and against owner Robert Kraft that once fired him. You think he’s not looking to get some payback? You could make a strong case that these are also the two best run organizations in the NFL as well: Seattle mainly building their team through the draft, while the Patriots have predominantly built their team through free agency. Oh yeah, and there’s no way you could forget about Deflategate involving New England anytime soon, but I won’t get into that. It’s been intensely covered enough over the last week.
The story of the game will surely be how well the Patriots can move the football against the Seahawks impenetrable defense. The Seahawks possess the NFL’s No. 1 pass defense and one of the finest secondaries of all-time. Seattle doesn’t give up big plays down the field and their ability to cut off all passing plays vertically is second to no other defense. Even with the great Tom Brady, New England is not going to win this game testing Seattle deep.
They’re going to have to attack the middle of the field with Gronkowski, run the ball more often and more effectively by picking up six yards here, five yards here, and three yards there to keep the clock and chains moving, and connect on short passes, which Brady thrives on. The Pats will have to be patient and protect the football in this game. How they use Gronkowski and Julian Edelman to me will be fascinating because those are the two guys that are most capable of hurting Seattle.
If any team best matches up with tight ends and makes them a nonfactor throughout a game, then it’s the Seahawks. In last year’s playoffs, they totally shut down the Saints Jimmy Graham and the Broncos Julius Thomas. However, Gronk will be a different challenge, though the Seahawks will mix up their pass coverage on him by using linebackers K.J. Wright, Bobby Wagner, and especially safety Kam Chancellor. All three guys have the size, speed, and strength to stick closely to him, so that will be intriguing.
Seattle’s offense will surely lean on Beast Mode and rightfully so. Marshawn Lynch will get his usual 20 to 30 carries and if he happens to eclipse the 100-yard mark, then lookout. Although, quarterback Russell Wilson is going to have to be much better in this game then he was against Green Bay (4 interceptions) in the NFC title game. As much as we talk about the secondary for Seattle, New England’s secondary deserves much acclaim as well.
Revis and fellow cornerback Brandon Browner has been arguably the best cornerback tandem in the league this year and safeties Patrick Chung and Devin McCourty have been more than dependable in the back coverage. Seattle’s unheralded receivers Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse are going to have to be more reliable the entire game than they were versus Green Bay (they dropped too many passes) and it’s going to be difficult against this group.
New England’s best chance would be to get off to a fast start like Green Bay did and force the Seahawks to play from behind – only they would have to close the deal, unlike the Packers. I can’t imagine the Seahawks playing as terribly offensively as they did through 3 ½ quarters against the Packers and I believe they will be sharper.
Brady is trying to become the third starting quarterback in history to hoist four Super Bowl Trophies along with Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana and he knows this might be his last chance to stake his claim as the G.O.A.T. at the QB position. Still it will be a difficult task against this resilient, focused, brash, determined, and close-knit Seahawks bunch. There looking to cement themselves as one of the best teams ever and with a win Sunday, they might just do that.
This one can go either way and it feels like it could be an all-timer. I’m just glad we have the two best teams squaring off for the second consecutive year.
I’m rolling with LOB in this one!
The Pick: Seahawks 27-24
Super Bowl MVP: Russell Wilson