Super Bowl Odds 2015: Latest Lines and Predictions Following Wild Card Round

Even though the NFL's top two teams in each conference have yet to make their postseason debuts, numerous Super Bowl XLIX contenders have already hit stumbling blocks.

Wild Card Weekend is a time for the contenders and pretenders to separate themselves, and that's exactly what happened in the opening days of 2015. From the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Arizona Cardinals, certain teams that many bestowed high hopes upon have already seen their Super Bowl hopes fade into the offseason.

With that said, championship aspirations have never been more alive for the other eight teams still in the running for one of two seats at the table in Glendale, Arizona, come February 1.

Let's take a look at who those teams are and make an early prediction as to who will be crashing the party.

Team	Odds
Baltimore Ravens	22-1
Carolina Panthers	41-1
Dallas Cowboys	64-5
Denver Broncos	132-25
Green Bay Packers	113-20
Indianapolis Colts	45-2
New England Patriots	343-100
Seattle Seahawks	53-25

Note: Odds courtesy of Odds Shark, last updated January 5.

Super Bowl Prediction: Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots

Elise Amendola/Associated Press

It gets no safer than picking the top two seeds in each conference to make the Super Bowl, especially when neither has played in the postseason as of yet. But this season, the writing is on the wall.

And while taking a week off is invaluable to the players and teams, everybody else is on pins and needles waiting for their teams' Super Bowl runs to begin, like the Patriots:

Along with being well-rested, New England is also on an absolute tear. Save for a season-ending loss to Buffalo that Tom Brady didn't play the second half of for resting purposes, the Patriots have won 10 of 11 to close out the season.

Although, Brady and Co. will have to take on a familiar foe in the divisional round. New England will host the Baltimore Ravens, which beat the Patriots on their home turf in 2012 during Baltimore's Super Bowl season. Pro Football Talk doesn't like the matchup for the Patriots:

The Ravens don't have that same ferocious defense they boasted in 2012, though, and a peaking Patriots team will be intent on righting the wrongs from two years ago. 

With home-field advantage for a potential AFC title-game rematch with Denver, the Pats should be expected to take care of business. They were a perfect 7-0 in Gillette Stadium before the inconsequential Week 17 loss to the Bills.

Speaking of dominating home-field advantage, did I mention the Seahawks?

Scott Eklund/Associated Press

Seattle looked doomed for the championship hangover we've seen time and time again over the last decade from Super Bowl winners, but they turned things around in a big way. Pete Carroll's squad won six straight to close out the season, winning each game by double digits.

The Seahawks get to host the 8-8-1 Carolina Panthers at home and will advance to the championship round easily if Cam Newton's struggles against Seattle continue, per Kenneth Arthurs of Rolling Stone:

"

Cam Newton has one total touchdown in three games combined against the Seahawks.

— haute takes (@KennethArthuRS) January 5, 2015"

Although the Panthers are much better than your average .500 team, the Seahawks will have no trouble getting past them. Even if Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers come to town the next weekend, Seattle's Legion of Boom secondary will prove too much to overcome.

The NFL playoffs are a time for unpredictability, but it's also a time for teams that are peaking at the right time to come full circle. While there are teams in the mix that will have 60 minutes to prove themselves, nobody should stand in the way of New England and Seattle—who are on a collision course for a February 1 meeting.

The Seahawks will go up against another high-powered AFC offense in the Super Bowl for a second straight year. But unlike Denver a year ago, the Patriots have a tough-nosed defense capable of staying in front of Seattle's run game and enough balance offensively to keep the Legion of Boom off balance.

Super Bowl prediction: Patriots 27, Seahawks 23