For the second year in a row the top seeds in each conference will meet in the Super Bowl, as the NFC champion Seattle Seahawks face the AFC champion New England Patriots for the Vince Lombardi Trophy at University of Phoenix Stadium on Feb. 1.
Last year, it was the Seahawks routing the Denver Broncos 43-8 as 2-point underdogs, and now they will try to become the first repeat Super Bowl champs since the Patriots in 2004-05. The 2015 Super Bowl between Seattle and New England opened with the Seahawks as slight 2-point favorites and the total at 48.5 points.
The Seahawks were viewed as the consensus favorites to win the Super Bowl heading into the NFC Championship Game but got a huge scare from the Green Bay Packers before an incredible late rally resulted in a dramatic and improbable 28-22 overtime victory. Seattle was an 8.5-point home favorite but trailed 16-0 at halftime and 19-7 in the final minutes before scoring 15 points in 44 seconds to take a brief 22-19 lead. Green Bay kicker Mason Crosby tied the game and forced OT by nailing his fifth field goal of the game with 14 seconds left in regulation. However, the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks continued their hot play, scoring the game-winning touchdown on their first possession of the extra session.
The Patriots saw a much different flow to their matchup with the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game yet it still yielded the same result – a win. New England jumped out to a 17-7 halftime lead and then poured it on in the third quarter en route to a 45-7 rout as a 7-point home favorite. The Pats outscored Indianapolis 21-0 in the third quarter on a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Tom Brady and one of three rushing TDs from running back LeGarrette Blount. The Colts scored their lone TD in the second quarter on a 1-yard run by backup RB Zurlon Tipton and never really threatened to reach the end zone again the rest of the game.
Seattle’s offense may be limited in some ways but could still give New England plenty of trouble due to the presence of RB Marshawn Lynch, who pounded the Packers defense with 157 yards on 25 carries, including a 24-yard touchdown run that gave the Seahawks their first lead. Lynch has been nearly unstoppable when his team needs him the most, although the Patriots limited him to just 41 yards on 15 carries the last time the teams met during the 2012 regular season. Seattle completed a similar comeback in that game, rallying back from a 23-10 deficit in the fourth quarter with two TD passes in the last 7:21 to stun New England 24-23 as a 4-point home underdog.
The Seahawks have gone 6-2 straight-up and against the spread in the past eight meetings with the Patriots, and they have also won 10 of their previous 14 matchups with AFC opponents. In addition, Seattle is 6-1 ATS in its last seven games against AFC East foes. New England is 6-2 SU and ATS in its past eight games against NFC teams but has not fared well versus the number in the Super Bowl. The Patriots are just 1-5-1 ATS in their previous seven Super Bowl appearances in losing four of seven SU, including each of their last two.