It is the ultimate battle of the unstoppable force vs the immoveable object as the high scoring Broncos offense clashes against Seattle's tough and hard working defense! Who will come out on top when Peyton Manning and his illustrious core of receivers face Richard Sherman and the Seattle's Legion of Boom secondary? Well luckily for all us NFL fans there isn't long to wait.
With the weather being very cold you would automatically expect defense to be favoured as getting your offense going in the temperatures that New York currently has to offer will be difficult. The cold weather element will definitely make this Super Bowl unique as nowadays we are use to seeing the sports biggest spectacle being held in places such as Arizona, Miami or at indoor stadiums.
Peyton Manning's record in the cold isn't exactly great but he has defied the odds many a time in his career especially since joining Denver. The future hall of fame quarterback is seeking a 2nd Super Bowl ring after winning a record 5th league MVP award last night. Peyton will be hoping to hoist the Lombardi trophy high in the air at the stadium his younger brother Eli plays in just like he did back at Lucas Oil stadium a few years ago when the Giants defeated the Patriots.
Peyton can cement his legacy as arguably the greatest quarterback to play the game tonight by winning the Super Bowl in a season which has seen his team become the first offense in NFL history to score over 600 points. To win the big game on the back of that and against the best defense in the league would shut up any critics he has.
Seattle will be no pushovers though and if they do manage to win tonight it will leave Peyton on 12 playoff losses with an unwanted record of most playoff losses ever by a starting quarterback. We all know about this Seahawks defense with Richard Sherman leading the way. With the likes of himself along with Earl a Thomas and Kam Chancellor along with their talented pass rushers like Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett the a Broncos can expect a tough game will lots of pressure. Denver's offensive like has held up well all year and personally for me was the decisive factor in the teams AFC title victory over New England a fortnight ago as they protected Manning which gave him time in the pocket to make valuable plays.
As mentioned above we all know what the Seattle defense can do. Denver's run defense is very good and hauled LaGarrette Blount two weeks ago but Marshawn Lynch is a whole different kettle of fish! 'Beast Mode' can turn it on at any given moment so the Denver run D needs to be alert and at it's best all night. The secondary has issues but is lead by Champ Bailey who could easily make critical plays against a Seahawks offense which is being questioned a lot by many.
Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson is a great game manager and holds the NFL record for most touchdown passes by a rookie with no other than Peyton Manning. Wilson has all the intangibles to get it done and we've seen him make the deep ball when he needs to but his receiving core isn't fantastic so the Seahakws will be hoping that free agency acquisition Percy Harvin can be the X factor for them tonight!
They gave up high picks to claim Harvin from Minnesota but he has been plagued by injuries all year round. Personally with the Broncos not doing much special teams work due to kicker Matt Prater always clearing the back of the end zone at Mile High I feel this could be a weakness for them tonight in New York and with Harvin's returning skills well he could make them pay.
Ball and Moreno need to play like they did against New England in order for the Broncos passing game to not be obvious therefore giving them a chance to succeed against the tough Seattle secondary. You can expect a lot of slant routes and it'll be interesting to see how the Seahawks play against this. Seattle's defense hasn't come up against such a talented receiving core all year as the Broncos possess both Julius and Demaryius Thomas along with Eric Decker and Wes Welker but the test of NFC West rivals San Francisco last week should stand Seattle in good stead for tonight's matchup.
One things for sure and that is that the two best teams in the league have reached the Super Bowl which these days doesn't happen often so I can't wait! I predicted Seattle to make the big game so I'm going to stick my neck out and say that defense reigns supreme tonight giving the 12th man, Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks franchise their first ever Super Bowl victory!
Prediction: Seattle Seahawks 21-20 Denver Broncos
