The Seattle Seahawks face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale
The day has finally arrived. The last day of the 2014 NFL season. It went fast and there were a lot of good team and individual performances, including from your Arizona Cardinals. The Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots will decide on Sunday who is NFL champion.
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When: 4:30 p.m. Arizona time
Where: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ
TV/Radio: NBC (ch 12 in Phoenix) – Al Michaels (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (color analyst), Michelle Tafoya (sidelines); Fox Sports 910am
Seattle Seahawks
Arizona Cardinals fans know them too well unfortunately. They beat the Cardinals twice in a five-week span lat in the 2014 season. It was those two wins that propelled the Seahawks to another NFC West division title and the number one seed in the NFL playoffs, a position the Cardinals held for the majority of the season.
They are hard to deal with on both sides of the ball. Quarterback Russell Wilson can kill you with running and throwing the ball. His offense was shut down for 57 minutes against the Green Bay Packers two weeks ago in the NFC Championship game and it appeared they were heading home and the Packers to Arizona. However after getting the game to overtime tied at 22 thanks to running back Marshawn Lynch, Wilson did his thing in overtime and quickly found receiver Jermaine Kearse for the game winner.
The defense is what gets the Seahawks on the map though. Linebacker Bobby Wagner made a huge difference for them. He was injured the first two-thirds of the season. At one point the Hawks were 3-3 and 6-4. They finished 12-4 after Wagner returned.
They also of course have cornerbacks Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas. Kam Chancellor may have made the biggest impact in the postseason with his interception in trying to close out the Carolina Panthers three weeks ago in the NFC Divisional Playoff.
New England Patriots
You’ll see a lot of Cardinals fans cheering the AFC representative on. Not because they are particularly fans of the Patriots but because they hate the Seahawks. Their story of their journey to Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale is quite similar to the Seahawks.
The Patriots got off to a rough start in 2014. They were 2-2 after being destroyed on Monday Night Football by the Kansas City Chiefs 41-14. Many left them for dead and were saying the run was over for quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick. But then then Patriots went 10-2 the rest of the way, finishing 12-4 just like the Seahawks.
In the playoffs, they were close to being eliminated in the divisional round. The Baltimore Ravens had them on the ropes until the end. They whipped the Indianapolis Colts 45-7 though in the AFC Championship game.
The Patriots can put points up in a hurry but can give them up in a hurry too. That has lead many to predict a high-scoring game on Sunday. I still can’t see a shootout here. Seattle many not wow you on the scoreboard but their defense isn’t going to allow a 40 or 50 spot either. The Patriots defense can play too. No one scored more than 26 on the Patriots after giving up 41 in Kansas City.
Prediction
Obviously this is a game that could either way. The line as of Sunday morning in Las Vegas has the Seahawks as one-point favorites. The Super Bowl typically does not go the way many think it will. That doesn’t stop us from making predictions. I am taking the New England Patriots in this one.
New England 26 Seattle 18