This is quite possibly the best Super Bowl matchup football fans could have asked for. The New England Patriots (12-4) in their regular season, versus defending Superbowl Champions, the Seattle Seahawks, also 12-4.
Some may call this a matchup made in heaven.
As for the people with a horse in the race, this may be the cause of a lot of heart problems and anxiety in the sixty minutes of play.
As of Jan. 18, the Seahawks are headed into the Super Bowl as a slight favorite by 2.5 points, according to ESPN reporter David Purdum. The Seahawks are looking to be the first back-to-back Super Bowl champions in a decade.
The Patriots were the other franchise that accomplished this back in 2003 and 2004.
When a team is defending the Lombardi trophy, every team will try its best to trounce the defending champions. The Seattle Seahawks are no different.
The Lombardi trophy is awarded each year to the winning team of the NFL’s championship game, the Super Bowl.
In the recent National Football Conference Championship game, Seattle’s integrity and ability was questioned during their overtime victory against the Green Bay Packers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Russell Wilson, Seattle’s quarterback, threw four interceptions and could only pull out the win when given extra time against an injured Aaron Rodgers (calf strain).
Rodgers almost proved to be a hero in that game, until Green Bay began playing not to lose, rather than to win, while the Seahawks began playing to repeat their Super Bowl appearance.
The Seattle Seahawks have the best defense in the NFL.
It was ranked first in points per game (15.9), first in yards per game (267.1), third in rushing yards per game (81.5) and first in passing yards per game (185.6).
The team went into the playoffs on a six game winning streak according to NFL.com.
However, let’s not discount Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and his offensive line.
Brady leads the NFL for most post-season starts by a quarterback (28), post-season wins by a QB (20) and most TD passes (49).
Tom Brady is the Patriots’ all time leading passer, Rob Gronkowski is the Patriots’ all time leading receiver and Jonas Gray is the leading rusher on this year’s team.
Not to mention Julian Edelman’s secret weapon, his experience as a college quarterback and the fact that he’s a bulldozer disguised as a wide receiver, as said by ProFootballReference.com.
So for the Super Bowl XLIX champs I say a 28-24 New England victory, regardless of the slight 2.5 points in favor of Seattle.
Taking the Patriots in this matchup is smart for a few reasons, and these are the reasons I am going all in and putting all of my faith in Brady and Head Coach Bill Belichick.
One, with a healthy 25 year old Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots look to be unmatchable. Gronk was injury prone in his 2012 and 2013 seasons, but with his return came with 82 catches and 12 touchdowns during his regular season.
He has more receiving touchdowns during his first five seasons than any tight end in NFL history, by a large margin. The record before Gronkowski was just 55 according to NFL.com.
Two, Bill Belichick. Belichick may be known for his lack of smiling, or shunning of media, but should be most importantly known for his 176 regular season wins as head coach of the New England Patriots.
Belichick will be coaching against his predecessor, Pete Carroll, becoming only the third coach to do so according to ProFootballReference.com.
Belichick likes to play head games with his opponents, for example, having players not practice, putting guys on the DL and then having them play the next game and his most infamous and recent quip “on to Seattle.”
This became the franchise’s catch phrase after Belichick was in a post-game press conference and uttered, “We’re onto Cincinnati,” many times after the Patriots fell to Kansas City early in the regular season.
He is a man of the present, and I am putting my full faith in a coach who thinks this way, ten times out of ten.
Three, Tom Brady. Tom Brady is led only by Joe Montana for most postseason games and touchdown passes.
In the beginning of the season, every person was counting Tom Brady out, saying he was too old and he wasn’t up to par with the rest of the league’s quarterbacks.
Well, now he’s headed to his sixth Super Bowl appearance and is looking to claim his fourth ring. Brady was drafted by the New England Patriots in 2000.
Since playing with the Patriots, he’s won three Super Bowls and was named Super Bowl MVP twice, according to Biography.com.
Brady says he will retire when he stops playing well, and as of right now, he shows no signs of slowing down.
With Tom Brady as quarterback and Bill Belichick as the head coach, the pair have a record of 180-55, without this duo, Belichick has a record of 52-63. Despite the recent “deflategate” controversy, Bill Belichick and his team will be ready to play in Arizona.
If history has shown us anything, Bill Belichick (winningest coach of all time for New England Patriots with 176 wins), will get it done with his 2014-2015 New England Patriots squad, according to ProFootballReference.com.
Mary Curtin can be contacted at mcurtin@keene-equinox.com