Super Bowl 2015: Updated Vegas Odds and Predictions for NFL Championship Tilt

Thanks to Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts, NFL fans will have a different Super Bowl than last season.

The Colts upset Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos in the divisional round and ended any hopes of a rematch between the Broncos and Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks still have their eyes on a second consecutive trophy, though, and a familiar foe stands in their way in the NFC Championship Game.

With only the conference title tilts remaining until the big game, let’s take a look at the updated odds and some predictions for the Super Bowl. Odds are courtesy of Odds Shark as of Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET.

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

Predicted Super Bowl: New England Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks

AFC

It may seem strange to have a David vs. Goliath dynamic in the conference championship game, but that is exactly what we have in the AFC with the Colts marching into New England to take on the mighty Patriots.

Luck has lost in blowout fashion to New England in all three of his matchups, including a 42-20 beatdown in Week 11 of this season and a 43-22 loss in the divisional round of last season’s playoffs. He also has six touchdowns and eight interceptions in those three games.

However, we are still talking about the same quarterback who led the NFL with 40 touchdown passes and threw for 4,761 yards for good measure.

Elsa/Getty Images

New England coach Bill Belichick certainly seems concerned, via ESPN.com:

"

If (Luck) extends the play, then he has the ability to create big plays. We've seen him do that multiple times throughout his career already. It's another guy you have to defend in the running game, the passing game in terms of his ability to scramble and make first-down yardage on possession-type downs. And he makes good decisions, so all those things are a problem.

"

The good news for the Patriots is superstar cornerback Darrelle Revis already shut down Luck’s top receiver, T.Y. Hilton, once this season (three catches for 24 yards). If he can do that again, it would go a long way toward taking the explosiveness away from the Colts’ attack.

On the other side, New England always seems to pick up large chunks of yardage on the ground against the Colts. It ran for 234 yards and six touchdowns in last year’s playoff matchup and 246 yards in this season’s game, and it could be in for another big performance against the league’s 18th-ranked run defense.

Indianapolis’ inability to slow down the Patriots’ attack will be the ultimate difference in this one. If New England once again gets rolling on the ground, it will force the Colts to commit more defenders to the box, which is when Tom Brady will hit Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola for game-changing plays. 

Predicted winner: Patriots

NFC

Like the AFC matchup, the NFC Championship Game features a rematch of a regular-season contest that was completely one-sided.

The Seattle Seahawks controlled the entire game in the season opener against the Green Bay Packers with their physicality and shutdown defense and walked away with a 36-16 victory. Expect the “12th Man” to be even louder this time around when Aaron Rodgers and his strained calf take the field against Seattle’s terrifying defense.

To Rodgers’ credit, he torched the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round for 316 yards and three touchdowns, but going against the Seahawks is a nightmare for even a healthy superstar quarterback.

Harry How/Getty Images

He does have Eddie Lacy, Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb as arguably the best collection of offensive weapons in the league to help him out, but Lacy only racked up 34 yards in the first matchup. Plus, cornerback Richard Sherman will be there to at least take one of the dynamic receivers out of the picture on any given play.

That is a major reason why Rodgers only threw for 189 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the opener, all while getting sacked three times.

Seattle was first against the pass, third against the run, first in scoring defense and first in total defense this season and allowed a whopping 6.5 points per game in the final six regular-season contests. Good luck dealing with that in CenturyLink Field. 

In case fans get too caught up in the Seattle defense, Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report reminded everyone that the Seahawks have a talented field general leading the way on the other side of the ball as well:

Russell Wilson is not the only one the Packers have to worry about since the Seahawks finished first in the league in rushing yards behind Wilson and Marshawn Lynch. The two combined for 2,155 rushing yards, which could be a problem for a Packers defense that finished 23rd against the run despite a solid finish to the season.

Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray just put up 123 rushing yards and a touchdown on Green Bay in the divisional round.

Al Bello/Getty Images

All the Seahawks have to do on offense is control the clock and put together a couple of long touchdown drives because the defense is going to do its job against an ailing Rodgers.

Get ready for more “defense wins championships” cliches because Seattle is going back to the Super Bowl. 

Predicted winner: Seahawks

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