Two number one seeds, two accomplished quarterbacks, one great offense, one great defense and one great match up. The New England Patriots, who have received much criticism lately in the “Deflate-gate” scandal in which 11 out of the 12 Patriots’ footballs were shown to be deflated. Thus the Patriots are not necessarily the fan favorite for this game. The Seattle Seahawks on the other hand, defending Super Bowl champions after defeating the Denver Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII, are riding high on momentum after coming back and scoring two touchdowns in the final three minutes of regulation against the Green Bay Packers.
Russell Wilson is looking to remain perfect against opposing Super Bowl winning quarterbacks (including one win over Brady). This can be attributed to the “Legion of Boom,” the defense backing up Wilson. With Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas III not at 100 percent, the defense may not be as effective as it has been. Expect Brady and the rest of the Patriot offense to go straight at Sherman and Thomas early in the game. Marshawn “Skittles” Lynch and Lagarette Blount are two power running backs who look to wear down the defensive lines of their counterpart. I believe whoever is more successful in the trenches and running the football will determine the outcome of the game. As in most games, the team who wins the turnover battle will have a great advantage at hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
This game is full of exciting match ups. Of course Brady and Wilson, arguably the two most successful playoff quarterbacks. Then there is the match up of defensive backs of Richard Sherman and Darelle Revis, the two top corner backs in the NFL, who look to force turnovers on Brady and Wilson. It will be interesting to see the Patriots plan of attack. They are almost chameleon-like in their approach to each game, changing constantly. The Seahawks, on the other hand, have the same game plan, and just say “here it is, try to stop it.”
The Seattle Seahawks will repeat as Super Bowl champions. Marshawn Lynch will have another fantastic 100 plus yard game, Wilson won’t be fantastic, but will be steady and will control the football. Sherman and the rest of the Legion of Boom will force Brady to make unforced errors, and Pete Carroll will become the third oldest coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl. 34-20 Seattle.
