Super Bowl XLIX Predictions
Did you guys know they actually ended this thing with a game? They do, and the Rotoworld staff is here to predict it.
Evan Silva: These are the two best teams in the NFL. I believe this is a pick 'em game, or close to it like the Vegas lines suggest. If I had to lean one way, I'd lean in Seattle's direction because I think they're the more talented team. Ultimately, I expect the game to be decided by one big play that either comes via improvisation (a Russell Wilson special) or a mistake made by the defense, like Byron Maxwell slipping and Brandon LaFell getting loose for a long catch. If I had to make an actual bet on the game, I'd take the under on 47.5 points. I might also take a shot on LeGarrette Blount as Super Bowl MVP. The Seahawks have struggled to stop the run so far in the playoffs.
Prediction: Seahawks 23, Patriots 20
Adam Levitan: Let's pretend the conference championship games didn't happen. Pretend we didn't see the Seahawks somehow squeeze out a miraculous win on the back of Mike McCarthy's scared coaching. Pretend we didn't see the Patriots absolutely throttle the Colts. If we eliminate those games from our mind, the Seahawks would be favored by three points and the general consensus would lean toward Russell Wilson's squad.
Instead, recency bias has the majority of the free world on New England. So just like last year (when — BRAG — both Evan Silva and I picked the Seahawks to upset the Broncos), this team is an underdog again. Give me the tougher team, the better defensive team and the one with the man who grabs his crotch in celebratory fashion.
Prediction: Seahawks 27, Patriots 16
Nick Mensio: Darrelle Revis and the New England secondary lock up Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse with ease in single-coverage. The Patriots' athletic linebackers — Jamie Collins and Dont'a Hightower — are able to contain Russell Wilson and stand up against the run, while Vince Wilfork eats up blockers up front. LeGarrette Blount runs for 100-plus yards against a suddenly-softer Seattle run defense. Gronkowski spikes twice. I think this game has blowout potential with the Seahawks scoring a late touchdown to make it look closer in the box score.
Prediction: Patriots 31, Seahawks 20
Raymond Summerlin: When New England has the ball this game will be all about pressure. The Seahawks' pass rush has been somewhat muted this season, and Tom Brady has been almost untouchable since the Patriots turned their season around against the Bengals. According to Pro Football Focus, Brady has been pressured on 26.1 percent of his dropbacks since Week 5, the second-highest mark in the league over that span. With C Bryan Stork looking like a go, Seattle will likely have to blitz to generate enough pressure against Brady, but that is a dangerous game to play against the two-time Super Bowl MVP. Brady has been deadly against the blitz throughout his career, sporting a 63 percent completion percentage and a 9:2 TD:INT ratio against extra rushers this season. Seattle's secondary is good, but Brady will find success if given time, especially if the Patriots can establish the run enough to make play action effective.
When Seattle has the ball the name of the game will be discipline. Unless the Seahawks can get Jermaine Kearse matched up on Brandon Browner consistently, Seattle will struggle to throw the ball on New England's solid secondary. That means the brunt of the offense will fall at the feet of Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch and their devastating read-option game. New England has the personnel to at least slow down the Seahawks' running game, but they will have to be disciplined enough to limit the cut-back lanes Lynch loves to exploit and limit the damage when Wilson decides to keep the ball and run. The Patriots had some success doing just that against the Miami Dolphins late in the year, but Ryan Tannehill and Lamar Miller are not Wilson and Lynch, and Tannehill still managed to make a couple chunk plays on option keepers. If New England allows the same plays to Wilson, it could be a very long game.
This is one of the most 50-50 Super Bowls I can ever remember, and I would not be shocked if it went either way.
Prediction: Patriots 24, Seahawks 20
Patrick Daugherty: The past 21 weeks have borne out a pretty obvious fact — these are the best two teams in football. Does that mean we’re guaranteed a classic, one on par with the 21st century’s best Super Bowls? Absolutely not. We just have to look back at last year’s epic-on-paper showdown of the league’s best defense and history’s top scoring offense to know that’s not the case. But it would be stunning if these two teams — who are not only the league’s best, but coached by the best — produced a blowout in Glendale. In fact, points of any kind may be hard to come by.
Super Bowl XLIX is pitting arguably the best quarterback of all time versus unquestionably the game’s best young playmaker. But offensively, both teams are staring at defensive mismatches. The Seahawks barely have the receivers to match up with the Raiders, let alone Darrelle Revis, Kyle Arrington and Brandon Browner. The Pats, meanwhile, have more receiving talent than Russell Wilson’s corps, but not the kind that can cut through the Legion of Boom buzzsaw with any regularity. Even every-week X-factor Rob Gronkowski could be held in check by a combination of Kam Chancellor and K.J. Wright.
That means this will be a land war with only occasional air support. Marshawn Lynch and LeGarrette Blount. They’re the players who will decide what history will be made. A fourth Super Bowl for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, or back-to-back titles for Pete Carroll and Wilson. Combined, the Seahawks and Patriots allowed just 3.72 yards per carry this season, while both ranked in the bottom 10 in yards allowed. Seattle’s run fortress has sprung some postseason leaks, but was the more formidable unit from September-December, allowing a downright stingy 3.4 YPC against (New England’s was 4.0). That, coupled with Lynch’s supremacy to Blount tilts a true pick ‘em toward Seattle for me. This will be a brutal, bloody game, but one I ultimately expect to produce another banner for the 12s.
Prediction: Seahawks 14, Patriots 13