As most experts (and my family and I) predicted, the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots will be competing in Super Bowl XLIX. To get here, we had to go through one game which had viewers on the edge of their seats and one that was much less thrilling.
The NFC Championship between the Seahawks and Green Bay Packers was a closer game than anticipated, as it came down to overtime. Even though the odds were highly in the Seahawks favor, it was their mistakes on offense and multitude of penalties that gave Green Bay a chance. With Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson throwing four interceptions, Green Bay failed to make the most out of these uncharacteristic mistakes. Between the five Seattle turnovers in the game (one first quarter fumble on a Doug Baldwin return), Green Bay was only able to score 6 points on the possession changes, and 22 points total. Although it was one of Wilson’s worst career games, it was Green Bay’s lack of capitalization on Seattle’s many errors that resulted in their loss.
Jermaine Kearse game-winning touchdown. Courtesy of AP / Jeff Chiu
If you want the short version of this game, Green Bay had a 16-point lead at halftime mainly due to Seattle mistakes. Seattle came back in the second half, getting within 5 points of the Packers with a score of 19-14 and a little more than 2 minutes left in the game. The Seahawks then successfully attempted an onside kick which allowed repossession of the ball. With this possession, they scored and made the game 22-19 in their favor. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers responded, making it quickly down the field and gaining enough yardage to allow Mason Crosby to make the game-tieing field goal. On to overtime, the Seahawks won the coin toss, and in their first overtime possession (and in only a little over 3 minutes), Wilson threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Kearse to win the game. Final score: 28-22.
Courtesy of AP / Elaine Thompson
In typical Seahawk fashion, they ended their game with some shouting. It came from Doug Baldwin this time who had a lot to say about the team’s “doubters.” Starting the season at 3-3, Baldwin yelled, “Everyone counted us out.” Baldwin’s post-game rant definitely followed in the footsteps of Richard Sherman. I mean, hey, the 12th man sure likes to shout too. Although they may have been doubted in the beginning, the Seahawks were the heavy favorites in this game. Just look at the NFL expert picks.
Courtesy of Cincy Jungle
As for the Patriots vs. the Indianapolis Colts, this game went quite the opposite and wasn’t determined in a dramatic, anxiety-inducing way. The final score was 45-7, Patriots. A game recap would probably bore you, so basically all there is to know is Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount had a great game with 3 rushing touchdowns, while Brady threw 3 touchdowns, and Julian Edelman had 98 receiving yards. Maybe the most noteworthy fact of this game is that Brady is now onto his sixth Super Bowl as starting quarterback, a NFL record. This game also allowed him to surpass Peyton Manning’s record for most post-season passing yards.
Courtesy of USA Today
With two weeks until the Super Bowl, the Seahawks are going to make sure they fix their issues and won’t be making those mistakes again. I think they’ve got this, but truth be told, I wish a different team would win. Just not the Patriots, sorry I’m a Giants fan.
With the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos both being the top seeds in their respected conferences, saying Super Bowl XLVIII would be a Wilson vs. Manning game, may not be the greatest surprise, or the classic underdog story we all love. As predictable as this is, these two teams face to face would make a more memorable Super Bowl in the end. The non-football watcher, would probably say, “The 49ers were just in the Super Bowl last year, let’s see someone different.” Same goes for the Patriots. Tom Brady already has multiple Super Bowl victories so it’d be a little more exciting to see someone else hoisting up the Lombardi trophy. Personal bias aside, I do actually have some facts to back up my prediction. It’s not my inner Giants fan rooting for Eli’s big bro and not wanting the Patriots, a Giant’s rival to be in it. The season’s stats so far show the Broncos and Seahawks have the better teams and should therefore make it to the Super Bowl.
Let’s look at the Broncos vs. Patriots first.
Courtesy of Football Schedule
Rushing Game: The Patriots mainly give touches to LeGarrette Blount and Steven Ridley who both finished the season with 7 touchdowns, with 772 yards for Blount and 773 yards for Ridley on the ground. With Blount’s 166 yard game and 4 touchdowns (the Patriot record for rushing touchdowns in one game) against the Colts in their 43-22 win this weekend, he’ll get the majority of the ground work for Sunday’s game.
As for the Broncos, with running back Knowshon Moreno getting the brunt of the work with occasional touches by Wisconsin rookie Montee Ball, both have the power to make significant plays. With 1,120 yards for Moreno in the regular and post seasons, his consistency this season will add to the big plays Manning is sure to make.
The consensus?: The Patriots will take the edge on rushing yards with Blount and Ridley’s combined efforts.
Courtesy of Football Schedule
Passing Game: Tom Brady has two major targets in Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola, while Peyton Manning has Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker, Eric Decker, and Julius Thomas. Manning’s options all land within the top 44 NFL players for total receiving yards on the season. The Patriots no longer have Gronkowski due to his ACL and MCL injury in Week 14, and with two less dependable receivers than the Broncos, that may be the game changer.
Basically, the less viable targets, the less passing yards. Plus, it’s Peyton Manning we’re talking about. With the most passing yards in the NFL this season and his 115.1 QB rating, it’d be a safe bet to say he’s going to have yet another huge game on the passing front.
Consensus: Broncos take the passing game with Manning and his many targets.
Defense: The Patriots defense essentially sealed the win in their divisional game against the Colts. With three sacks on quarterback Andrew Luck and four interceptions (two of them by Pats cornerback Alfonzo Dennard), the Patriots defense led by Jamie Collins will have even more confidence going into this weekend’s game.
However with Bronco’s cornerback Chris Harris Jr. out with a torn ACL after last weekend’s win against the Chargers, they’ll need to find a replacement to fill his large shoes. Head coach John Fox hasn’t made a decision yet, but I’ll bet that Champ Bailey will be in the cornerback position for the majority of the game. He won’t be at his 100% best because of his left foot injury that has been continuously giving him trouble, but will be a decent replacement.
Consensus: The Patriots defense will be strong, forcing at least one turnover and breaking through the Bronco’s offensive line to get to Manning. The Broncos offense, however, will keep them in check and ultimately diminish the Patriots defensive efforts. Broncos have this one.
Special Teams: I’ll keep this one short. The Bronco’s Trindon Holliday is likely to give Peyton Manning and company consistently good field position. Ideally for the Broncos, he may even return a punt for a touchdown as well.
Consensus: The Broncos special teams will help ensure a Denver win.
Aside from these predictions, what is sure is that it will be a very close game. Yes, the Patriots defense has been playing better than usual as seen by their recent win, and the Broncos have some injuries plaguing their defense, but Peyton has all four of his receivers healthy. Manning and these four will make all the difference.
Now for the Seahawks vs. 49ers.
Courtesy of Football Schedule
Rushing Game: Marshawn Lynch will dominate the field as usual. With 1,403 yards in the regular and post season combined, he’ll probably add more than a hundred yards to that number this Sunday.
Although Frank Gore will most likely give the 49ers a touchdown or two, he won’t be able to keep up with the 100+ yard game Lynch is going to have. I predict he won’t break over the 100 yard mark at all.
Consensus: The rushing game with the help of Lynch will help ensure another victory for Seattle.
Passing Game: Although Russell Wilson had a disappointing divisional round and beat the New Orleans Saints thanks to the Seahawk’s rushing game, we should see a better week from him. Golden Tate will get the majority of Wilson’s completions, but Doug Baldwin will also be there making several key catches. I don’t expect an amazing, extraordinary game from Wilson, but just enough to win the game.
Courtesy of Football Schedule
The 49ers have Anquan Boldin and Vernon Davis, both who are bound to make several big catches and get into the end zone. Crabtree will be there to make a few solid catches as well in crucial 3rd down situations. Kaepernick, on the other hand, has had less than stellar games versus the Seahawks this season with 15 completions on his 29 attempts in their Week 14 meeting. However this time around, we should see him make some big plays in the air and on the ground, possibly getting into the end zone himself.
Consensus: The 49ers win this category as I see Boldin and Davis collecting more receiving yards than Tate and Baldwin of the Seahawks.
Defense: This category gets a bit more difficult to predict since we’ll be seeing two of the NFL’s best defenses going face to face. I’ll keep it simple and give the edge to the Seahawks as their regular season defensive stats speak loudly enough. (Number 1 in the NFL for: Average of points allowed per game, average yards allowed, average passing yards allowed, turnovers, and interceptions)
Consensus: The Seahawks will force several turnovers with their defense consisting of cornerback Richard Sherman and star safety Earl Thomas.
Special Teams: The Seahawks have had a consistently excellent special teams unit. With kicker Steven Hauscka’s 94.3% field goal completion rate, their special teams should positively impact the outcome of the game.
In the Seahawks and 49ers last meeting, San Francisco’s Phil Dawson kicked a field goal to win the game, and he will again prove useful in tacking on 3 extra points here and there to keep the 49ers in it.
Consensus: Special teams will both make beneficial contributions but the Seahawks should make a few more field goals to keep the win safely in their grasp.
With the almost deafening noise volume at the Seahawk’s CenturyLink field, the 49ers will have to try their best to keep their sanity, but ultimately will fall short if only by a few points.
Okay yes, I personally want a Seahawks vs. Broncos Super Bowl, but with the Bronco’s offense under the helm of Peyton Manning, and the Seahawk’s having the number one defense in the NFL, it is more than likely to end up that way.
As the playoffs are in full swing with one game finishing a few hours ago, two more games tomorrow, a championship game for each division, and finally THE SUPER BOWL, I thought I might simplify the playoffs for those who find the whole thing confusing.
Since some of us don’t like reading those lengthy sports articles, would rather watch a reality show instead of SportsCenter, or only watch their team’s games, a visual representation of “who’s still in it” will get you all of the info you need to be knowledgeable at those upcoming Super Bowl parties!
To start off, there are four rounds of playoffs. First, the Wild Card Round, second, the Divisional Round, third, the Conference Championship Round, and fourth and finally, the Super Bowl! Six teams from each of the two conferences make it to the playoffs and this year the teams for the American Football Conference (AFC) are (left to right): The Denver Broncos, Cincinnati Bengals, San Diego Chargers, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, and New England Patriots.
As many of us have a visual memory, I thought using the team’s logos would help you remember which team played which, who won, and who’s continuing on in hopes of making it to the Super Bowl!
Now as the Super Bowl works, the top AFC team plays the top NFC (National Football Conference) team. Again, there are six teams in the NFC playoffs (left to right): The San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints, and Green Bay Packers.
Before we make it to the Super Bowl though, we need some eliminations! That’s where the first Wild Card Round comes into play. Four teams from each conference play each other in the first round, while each conference’s two highest seeds wait until the second round to begin play.
For the AFC, this is how the first round went:
In the NFC, this is what happened:
As it works in the NFL, playoffs run by single-elimination. This means once you lose, you’re out. With four teams out (two from each conference), we’re currently in the midst of round 2. In this Divisional Round, the top seeds finally get a chance to play with two games already in the books after today.
Today it was the AFC second seed, New England Patriots, playing the Indianapolis Colts and the NFC first seed, Seattle Seahawks, playing the New Orleans Saints. If you want to be super impressive and be able to recite the scores, the Patriots won 43-22 while the Seahawks won 23-15. Clearly, the Patriots and Seahawks displayed why they were at the top of their conferences by both claiming spots in their designated Conference Championships.
Now the only questions left are: “Who will take the last AFC and NFC Conference Championship spots?,” and “Which two teams will make it the Super Bowl?” To give you an idea of what’s to come, let’s again get some visuals.
Here’s what games are happening tomorrow, where two teams will make it to the Conference Championships!
And looking even further ahead, who will be joining the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots in Round 3?
Soon enough the Super Bowl will be here and you’ll be able to say you knew how the two final teams got there! Everyone needs a visual aid once in a while, but if you want to “really really” know what’s going on in the playoffs, watch them for yourself! The 49ers and Panthers will be playing tomorrow at 1:05PM while the Broncos and Chargers will be playing at 4:40PM. I personally can’t wait for what will both be two great games!
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