What a great match up we have for Super Bowl XLVlll. A chess match between the best offense in NFL history vs. one of the best defenses we have seen in a while. Peyton Manning makes his 3rd Super Bowl appearance and is in search of winning his 2nd ring. A win in this one hands down in my opinion makes him the greatest QB to ever play the game.
The Seahawks are led by young Russell Wilson who hasn't played great of late, but is cool under pressure and I expect him to be the same in the biggest game of his life. The Seahawks offense will try and keep the ball away from Manning and the offense by feeding the beast, aka Marshawn Lynch. For the Seahawks to win, I think Lynch needs anywhere between 25-30 touches in this one. Russell Wilson will also be key in making plays with his legs and keeping passing plays alive when the pocket breaks down. If he can break contain and either run or hit big plays down the field, the Seahawks offense should have success moving the ball against what has been a poor Broncos secondary for most of the season.
The matchup everyone is looking forward to is the Broncos offense vs. the Seahawks defense. It will be interesting to see if indeed Manning goes after Sherman, who will be covering Demaryius Thomas all night. I know Peyton will take some shots if the coverage tells him to do so and I'm sure Thomas will get away once or twice for a big gain. The Seahawks defense will blitz and let their pass rushers lose in hopes of getting pressure on Manning and either sacking him or forcing him into bad decisions. The Broncos offense moved the ball up and down the field vs. this defense in the pre-season meeting, but the Seahawks defense came up with 3 turnovers, which has been their calling card all year.
When it comes down to it, I think the difference in the game could come in the kicking game. The Broncos went for over 500 yards vs. the Patriots defense but had to settle for 4 field goals and struggled inside the red zone. Same can be said for the Seahawks as they had to settle for 3 field goals vs. the 49ers instead of scoring touchdowns inside the red zone. Both teams have excellent kickers, the Broncos led by Matt Prater and the Seahawks Steven Hauschka. Both have had great seasons and which ever kicker misses the big field goal may cost their team the games.
A few X-Factors to look for in this one are the Broncos running back Moreno and Ball. If the Broncos can get a running game going early with the 2 headed monster in the backfield, that will only open up more downfield throws for Manning and the WR's whether its Thomas, Decker, Welker, or Julius Thomas. For the Seahawks the X-Factors are WR's Doug Baldwin and Golden Tate. Baldwin made a few huge plays in the kicking game a few weeks ago with nice returns that set up the Seahawks with some short fields. If he can do that once or twice in this one, it will really help out Russell Wilson and the offense. With Tate, I think he needs to make a few plays in the passing game to help open up the running game, which the Broncos will load the box trying to stop.
The Broncos are 2.5 point favorites in this one and I'm taking them. Also with the struggling red zone problems, I'll take the under for the points. I think this will be a great Super Bowl to watch for all football fans and in the end, Peyton gets Super Bowl win #2, just furthering his resume as being the best there ever was.
