Super Bowl 2015: Head-to-head matchups

Dec 7, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback

(3) hands off to running back

(24) during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Seattle Seahawks Run Offense vs. New England Patriots Run Defense: 

Marshawn Lynch is the best running back in the NFL and any thoughts about letting Lynch go after this season have probably faded for the Seattle Seahawks. Lynch averaged 4.7 yards per attempted this season and has been vital to the Seahawks success. To add to that, the Seahawks have Russell Wilson who has been the best rushing quarterback in the NFL this year. Wilson himself ran for 849 yards this season and is a threat to break off a game-changing run any time in the game. With a  solid offensive line in front of them, this ground attack is close to unstoppable. The Seahawks will look to their rushing attack to win the game.

The New England Patriots have had a strong run defense this year. They were ninth in the NFL in both rushing yards allowed and yards per carry, and they added a few big defensive tackles in the second half of the season in Sealver Siliga (from IR-recall) and Alan Branch (from free agency). It’s going to be key for those big guys to make plays this week. I would expect the Patriots to load the box with seven or sometimes even eight guys in effort to stop the run. When loading the box, I think they will probably play with a five-man front, with Dont’a Hightower and Jaime Collins behind them, and then they might add Patrick Chung into the box as well.

Advantage: Seahawks 

I think this will be where the game is won or lost for either side. If the Seahawks can’t get their runnng game going, their offense will be almost non-existent. If  they can, they will be hard to beat. For the Patriots, tackling is key because Lynch isn’t going to beat you with his speed. They need to take him down quickly, because as long as he stays upright, Seattle always seems to keep pushing the pile forward. I think Collins and Hightower will be deciding factors in this game. Hightower is big linebacker who will have to make a lot of plays and hit Lynch hard, and Collins’s athleticism will be key in stopping Russell Wilson.

If the Seahawks did not have a quarterback as mobile as Wilson, I would say this matchup is about even, but Wilson makes this running attack extremely hard to stop. Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich will have to make good reads and smart decisions. Both the Panthers and the Packers were able to contain Wilson very well, but the Patriots have to be ready every play, because he will exploit any mistake they make.

Seattle Seahawks 1, New England Patriots 0