BY JEFFREY TIMMERS

Despite deflated footballs and a rough start, the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks will play in the final game of the NFL season, the Super Bowl.

The defending Super Bowl champions started their year off on the wrong foot. After losing three of their first six games, including a loss to the mediocre St. Louis Rams, most questioned the Seahawk’s ability to return to the Super Bowl. With New England, a loss in their first game to the Dolphins and an early, brutal loss to the Chiefs worried some Patriot fans, but they assured everyone they were on the right track.

Seahawks

Although the Seahawks had a rough start, they ended the year 12-4 and are returning to the Super Bowl. Halfway through the year, management traded Golden Tate, a top flight wide receiver, which caused a riff in team morale. If you want to follow more opinions on the matter, here is this.

The Seahawks have the league’s 4^th ranked offense, led by quarterback Russell Wilson and running back Marshawn Lynch. In the past week, Lynch told the Super Bowl press on Media Day, “I’m just here so I don’t get fined.”

“Beast Mode” as Lynch is known, is one of the hardest running backs in the league to bring down and averages the most yards after contact. Despite problems with fines, Lynch was fourth in the league with 1,306 yards and added 13 touchdowns. Wilson’s stats don’t show that he is near the league’s best, but he has been one of the most productive quarterbacks. He threw for 3,475 and 20 touchdowns to accompany just seven interceptions. He also ran for 849 yards, 16th in the league, which is remarkable for a quarterback.

The Seahawks’ defense has also contributed to their stellar year. Even though they had some rough games early in their schedule, the Hawks ranked third in total defense on the year. Allowing the third fewest number of rushing yards and the fewest number of passing yards to opponents, the Seahawks have proven that they are a dominating force.

Their secondary–with star players such as Earl Thomas III and Richard Sherman–had a spectacular season. Quarterbacks are always scared to throw to Richard Sherman’s side of the field. Another solid part of the defense has been linebacker K.J. Wright. He had 107 total tackles and forced 3 fumbles. The Seahawks will have to rely heavily on this defense to stop the Patriots’ high-powered offense.

Patriots

The Patriots own the same record as the Seahawks (12-4) and have also experienced rough losses, such as 14-41 to the Chiefs. The Patriots own the league’s second-ranked offense, most likely due to their MVP candidate quarterback, Tom Brady. The star quarterback, now 37 years old, completed the year with 4,109 yards and 33 touchdowns.

The hardest part of this offense to stop is the unmatchable tight end Rob Gronkowski. He is the only receiver on the team with over 1000 yards, and he has totaled 1124 yards on 82 catches to accompany his 12 touchdowns. A huge red zone threat, “Gronk” will most likely be matched up with K.J. Wright.

To stop other receivers like Doug Baldwin, the Pats have All-Pro cornerback Darrell Revis. One of the best cornerbacks in the league, Revis has created “Revis Island,” where opposing receivers entirely disappear one game at a time.

The Patriots haven’t had much of a running game due to injuries and their heavy reliance on the passing game (and maybe deflated footballs…). Recently the Pats have been best known for the deflated football scandal, also known as “deflate-gate.” The Patriots ninth-ranked rush defense will need to contain Marshawn Lynch in this game or it could get ugly. Their passing defense is sub-par so they will defend on defenders such as Jamie Collins to get into the middle and stop him. The problem is they need more than one person. This could be a key part of the game and could eventually decide the winner.

Prediction

I’m not putting a prediction because it could actually go either way. I want the Seahawks. Katy Perry’s halftime show won’t be the only interesting event.

Who: New England Patriots (14-4) vs. Seattle Seahawks (14-4).

When: Sunday, Feb. 1.

Time: Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. ET, with coverage beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET. 

Where: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ.

TV Schedule: NBC local.

Halftime Show: Katy Perry