Super Bowl 2015: The Ultimate Guide to Sunday's Big Game

Everything has come down to this. 

On the one hand, it seems like only yesterday we were sitting here with one another, commiserating about how long it would be until football started. Worse yet, that we had to sit through the "agony" of preseason football before the real stuff started. We've come a long way since then. We've had highlights, lowlights, hackneyed narratives and honest-to-goodness storylines, with everything in between.

Then again, doesn't it also seem like that was forever ago?

The NFL season is a monolith. It comes and goes in a flash, yet it is so all-encompassing that it's easy to get lost in the expanse of it all.

And it's all come down to this.

The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks are getting ready to face each other in the biggest game in all of sports, and Bleacher Report has collected absolutely everything you need to know. Just click ahead, and when you're finished, leave your thoughts in the comments below.

The Kickoff

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Who: New England Patriots "at" Seattle Seahawks

When: 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC

Where: Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona

At first blush, this is a matchup that is going to be billed as offense versus defense, but it goes so much further than that. Over the course of the season, Seattle amassed a top-10 offense, while the Patriots had a top-15 defense. 

Really, these are two of the most well-rounded teams in the league that can run, pass, stop the run and rush the passer, and they are led by two of the most brilliant coaches, coaching staffs and front offices in the entire league. 

To make matters even better, these two teams match up really well with one another. 

The Patriots can stop the run, while the Seahawks will need to run effectively if they want to put up truly big yards against Darrelle Revis and Co. Meanwhile, the Seahawks are the league-leading defense but have had troubles (intermittently) against tight ends, which could open things up for the Patriots' Rob Gronkowski. 

Before you go further, go argue about Ty Schalter's ranking of the top 25 players in the Super Bowl.

Second-Screen Swag

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press

• Bleacher Report can serve as the perfect complement for game-day viewing, as our live events team will gather all of the stats, tweets, replays and more right on the B/R homepage.

• If you prefer to follow on your mobile device or tablet, make sure you have the Bleacher Report Team Stream app for the latest in news and highlights.

Must-Follow Tweeters

• Bleacher Report National Lead Writer Matt Bowen
• Bleacher Report AFC East Lead Writer Erik Frenz
• Bleacher Report NFC West Lead Writer Sean Tomlinson
• CBS Sports Senior Blogger Will Brinson
• Bleacher Report National Lead Writer Ty Schalter
• Yahoo Sports Writer Eric Edholm
• Sports Illustrated Analyst Aaron Nagler
• Fox Sports Senior National Writer Peter Schrager
• Sports Illustrated writer Greg Bedard
• Sports Illustrated NFL Writer Doug Farrar

The Hater Bowl?

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Since before the matchup was even set, people were latching on to these being two of the most "hated" teams in America, and there's some value to that, even if it's highly subjective. Large segments of the general NFL fan populace "hate" the Patriots and Seahawks for various reasons, so the idea that this is a "Hater Bowl," which America will watch simply to root for both teams to lose, has been put forward by many columnists and fans. 

As the guy who once spent his time in these parts penning a "Haters Guide," let me speak on this. 

Forget "Hater Bowl." Let's call it what it really is: The Jealous Bowl.

Seriously, guys and gals, look around at the NFL landscape. There are at least 20 to 25 teams that would love to straight up trade positions with either of these teams over the past decade, even as they spout idiocy like, "The Patriots haven't won since Spygate."

They would love to have a Bill Belichick- or Pete Carroll-caliber coach, even while deriding them as arrogant or "cheaters."

Pretend you're hate-watching this game all you want, but take a good, hard look at your team before deciding what exactly it is you're hating. 

Still hate Belichick and Carroll? Here's Mike Tanier on why they're actually role models.

The Commercials

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

If you want to be that guy or girl who spoils all of the commercial breaks for yourself, feel free to head to Super Bowl Commercials, which has clips, teasers and even full cuts of most of the ads you'll be seeing during the big game. 

Or, hey, consider it license to go to the bathroom or grab a beverage whenever the heck you darn well please...because, America. 

Here are some highlights:

• Gone are the days of every big-budget trailer waiting until Super Bowl Sunday to be released, but commercials for Minions, Jurassic World and Terminator Genisys will have social media buzzing. (SlashFilm)
  
• GoDaddy has been running the same stupid "pretend explicit" ads for years (who is actually going to the Internet to see more?) and it took a cute puppy for people to finally get fed up? (USA Today)
• My early pick for best ad? Anything with Danny Trejo. (Hollywood Life)

The Food

Allison Joyce/Getty Images

Whether you're at the game or just chillin' like a villain in front of your luxurious 60-inch television, the days of peanuts, Cracker Jack and watered-down swill are long gone. In a nation of foodies, Super Bowl parties have been stepping up their game for years. 

• Want to spend way too much money and look like an idiot at the same time? Here is a $4,900 order of "wings" from The Old Homestead Steakhouse. First off, let's go ahead and take a minute to appreciate the irony of that name. Back now? Great. Now, let's rise up as one and promise to absolutely embarrass anyone who buys this monstrosity of expensive ingredients that are going to taste like garbage when they get to your house. (New York Post)
  
• The Seattle Times claims its city as a contender in the food category of this point-counterpoint column. I don't know; both cities boast amazing seafood and plenty of local ingredients, but while Seattle may be embracing "foodie" and "locavore" cultures more (I hate myself for this sentence), New England boasts a much larger national footprint and historically invented the ideas of things like the submarine sandwich and the hamburger. (The Seattle Times)
• Then again, The Huffington Post goes all in and claims Seattle food is "winning at life" and lists 22 reasons. Bonus points if you get past the geoduck picture and don't giggle. (The Huffington Post)

Over here at Super Bowl party central, we'll be themed around food and drink from the two cities. If you want to get on my level, make sure you have a big pot of New England-style clam chowder, some Seattle-style hot dogs with cream cheese and green onion (better than you think) and plenty of Boston-style lagers and Northwest-style IPAs (drink responsibly). 

Then, if you're really adventurous, check out this thing called a "Steak Bomb." I've heard if you eat one, you'll immediately grow a Ron Swanson-style mustache that will demand to consume a second one for itself.

Biggest Questions

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Can the Legion of Boom Stop Gronk and Shane Vereen?

Note the italics up there.

I'm positive—100 percent—that a healthy (or, reasonably so...next slide) Seahawks defense can stop either Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski or Shane Vereen in the passing game. Both, though? That's a tougher order for a defense that had issues with tight ends during the regular season and whose Cover-3 defense is naturally susceptible to backs escaping out of the backfield.

Gronkowski is probably going to get his no matter what, but if "his" looks like a couple of touchdowns and Vereen gets loose on a wheel route or two, "his" might also look like a Lombardi Trophy.

Sean Tomlinson took a look at how the Seahawks can defend Gronk.

Will Tom Brady and the Pats Suffer Another Super Bowl Letdown?

Every time Brady has gotten to the Super Bowl since his initial early-career spate of championships, he's been met by a defense tailor-made to stop him. The Seahawks defense (other than the matchups mentioned above) fit that criteria pretty darn well, as I noted here. 

You know how you answer the first question affirmatively if you're the Seahawks? You pressure Tom Brady and make him look like the New York Giants made him look in previous Super Bowls. They do that, it'll be them with the trophy and trip to Disney World. 

The best way to neutralize a pass rush is with a solid running game, though, and Matt Bowen discusses how LeGarrette Blount and the Pats' play-action passing could possibly give the Seahawks D fits. 

Can Russell Wilson Repeat Last Year's Amazing Performance?

Though the Seahawks are not known for prolific passing numbers, Wilson more than has the ability to "turn it on" in big-game moments. He did so at the end of the NFC Championship Game, and he did so in last year's Super Bowl as well. 

Wilson is still young, and he has a contract coming up. If he does what he did last year and it helps the Seahawks win a second straight Super Bowl, I'm not sure there's a dollar amount that exists that will match what his first salvo to the Seahawks front office could be in upcoming negotiations. 

Matt Bowen thinks the X-factor in the game could be Wilson's legs, whereas Sean Tomlinson thinks it could be tight end Luke Willson.

For even more on how these two teams match up, take a seat in Matt Bowen's Film Study.

Injury Report

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

New England Patriots

Brandon LaFell (WR): questionable, toe

Seattle Seahawks

Marshawn Lynch (RB): probable, back

Richard Sherman (CB): probable, elbow

Earl Thomas (S): questionable, shoulder

Bleacher Report Consensus Predictions and Links

Matt York/Associated Press

BR Expert Consensus Super Bowl Picks

BR Expert Super Bowl Projections

Mike Tanier on how to stop Marshawn Lynch.

Erik Frenz on fired-up Pats team not wanting Deflategate to squander their "moment."

Mike Freeman on Seahawks WRs using disrespect as motivation.

Sean Tomlinson on Russell Wilson's decision-making being a concern.

Robert Kraft is right to demand apology from NFL and media.

Cian Fahey believes the Pats need to slow down Bennett, Avril to have a chance.

Mike Freeman on the Revis and Sherman feud.

Michael Schottey is an NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report and an award-winning member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Find more of his stuff on his archive page and follow him on Twitter.