Super Bowl 2015: Predictions and Odds for Big Game Before Conference Title Games

The best weekend of the NFL season is upon us, as the conference championships are about to kick off. The Super Bowl may bring with it the glitz and glamor, but often the game is more of a dud than a classic. The conference championships, on the other hand, almost always seem to be memorable. 

But with four teams left, who is the favorite to win the Super Bowl? And more importantly, which team will actually pull of the feat?

Let's break it down.

Odds

Team	Odds
Seattle Seahawks	117-100
New England Patriots	193-100
Green Bay Packers	57-10
Indianapolis Colts	15-2

Predictions

I don't think it's particularly wise to bet against the Seattle Seahawks right now. The Seahawks have won seven games in a row. They've gone 17-2 at home in the past two years. The defense hasn't given up more than 17 points since Nov. 16. 

It's about more than just Seattle's recent dominance or the fact that it has peaked at the perfect moment, of course. It's also about the fact that Aaron Rodgers remains beat up, and it's about Seattle's dominant 36-16 victory at home over the Green Bay Packers in Week 1. 

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

If Rodgers were at full health, this game might look different. But truthfully, the league's best defense and its most vicious rushing attack, led by Marshawn Lynch, are going to be tough for anyone to beat, let alone a beat-up Rodgers. 

Seattle is heading back to the Super Bowl. The New England Patriots will join it. 

Like Seattle, the Patriots are incredibly difficult to beat at home, having gone 17-1 in their home digs since 2013. They have a legend in Tom Brady leading the way, the most talented tight end in the league in Rob Gronkowski and genius Bill Belichick devising the game plan.

More importantly, the Patriots whooped the Indianapolis Colts earlier this year, 42-20, rushing for 246 yards in the win. They also have the fact that Andrew Luck is 0-3 against the Pats in his career. 

The Colts are a good team, but they aren't quite ready to compete for a title just yet.

And so it will be Brady versus Russell Wilson; Bill Belichick against Pete Carroll; the "Legion of Boom" against Gronk, Julian Edelman and Brandon LaFell; the AFC's best team this season against the NFC's top squad and the defending Super Bowl champions.

Ultimately, I think it will be Seattle's defense that gets it the win. It has a safety in Kam Chancellor who can physically stick with Gronkowski. Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas will match wits with Brady, and the Seahawks will be able to get pressure on Brady without blitzing, a huge key to slowing down the future Hall of Famer. 

The Patriots will likely sell out to slow down Lynch and the running game, but Wilson is such a dangerous weapon in the passing game despite the team's weak crop of wide receivers, simply because he's so brilliant at extending plays and making things happen down the field. That makes Seattle tough to defend, even for a mastermind like Belichick. 

The game should be one heck of a contest, of course, but in the end, I think Seattle is simply the better team, top to bottom. You can never count out Brady and Belichick, but I'll take the Seahawks to make it two in a row.