Super Bowl 2015: Odds, Predictions for Colts, Patriots, Packers and Seahawks

Super Bowl scenarios no longer require any stretch of the imagination. Four possible matchups exist for the title clash heading into the conference championship games.

This deep into the postseason bracket, no squad can be counted out. It only takes one fortuitous play to alter a contest's outcome, forever changing both contestants' legacies. As long as it doesn't end with the referees calling a phantom touchdown, but that never happens.

Those breaks that unfold in every NFL game on nearly every play are impossible to predict. The best one can do is look at how each participant can advance to the Super Bowl without random variance. With that, here is each team's key to winning a trip to Arizona.

Super Bowl Odds

Team	Odds
Seattle Seahawks	5-4
New England Patriots	19-10
Green Bay Packers	11-2
Indianapolis Colts	13-2

Odds via Odds Shark as of late Thursday night.

Championship Game Weekend Schedule, Predictions

Conference	Matchup	Prediction
AFC	Indianapolis Colts at New England Patriots	NE 27-20
NFC	Green Bay Packers at Seattle Seahawks	SEA 23-17

Each Team's Key to Victory:

Colts: Luck and luck

The Indianapolis Colts can't run. They played decent, often erratic defense before turning up the jets in January. Andrew Luck going scorched-earth on everyone seemed like their only probable path to the AFC Championship Game.

Against the Denver Broncos, he was OK. Those two picks on deep throws produced a similar result to a punt, but the quarterback still tallied just 6.2 yards per attempt.

If Peyton Manning doesn't swap bodies with Tim Tebow for a day, Luck's output would not have proved nearly enough.

For Indianapolis to pull off another upset, it'll need a huge day from Luck, who has been forced to carry the offense all year. As noted by ESPN Stats & Info, none of the remaining teams depends on its passer more than the Colts.

Quite frankly, the Colts will also need some luck with a lowercase "L." They would have endured a much tougher opening round had the Cincinnati Bengals not played without A.J. Green. Although the defense did its part behind star cornerback Vontae Davis, a hobbled Manning ultimately gifted his old team a stinker.

The New England Patriots have the Colts' number, winning their last three meetings by a combined 78 points. In order to buck that trend, the Colts need a big-time game from Luck along with a lucky bounce or two against the AFC's No. 1 seed.

Patriots: Return to the Run

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

Struggling to establish a run game against the Baltimore Ravens, Bill Belichick gave up, letting Tom Brady rally by himself. Spitting in the face of conventional wisdom, the New England Patriots won a playoff game with 51 throws and seven handoffs.

Against Baltimore's No. 4 run defense and battered secondary, the gambit made sense for the Patriots, who twice overcame 14-point deficits. Yet, New England is better than anyone at adjusting to its opponent, and the Colts are beatable on the ground.

Nobody knows that better than the Pats, who clobbered them with 246 rushing yards during Week's 11 42-20 victory. ESPN.com's John Parolin, however, noted that Indianapolis has since improved, surrendering 110 rushing yards per game with zero 100-yard rushers.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Another 200-yard rusher isn't necessary to top the Colts. The Patriots just need enough to keep the defense honest. Not trailing 14-0 would certainly help.

Jeremy Hill and C.J. Anderson combined for 127 yards on 31 carries, an average of 4.1 yards per run. Jonas Gray has fallen out of favor since crushing the Colts, but LeGarrette Blount is now on board. If he can give them four yards a run, the Patriots are on their way to another Super Bowl.

Packers: Keep Rushing Games Even

The Green Bay Packers obviously need a healthy and effective Aaron Rodgers to dethrone the Seattle Seahawks, whose red-hot No. 1 defense has averaged eight points allowed over the past seven games.

After praising his immortality at Lambeau Field all of last week, it's only fair to now identify the other side of that equation. ESPN Stats & Info shows that the MVP contender has hardly conquered opponents on the road.

Seattle's incredible secondary and fabled 12th Man make the task all the tougher, which is why Green Bay will need Eddie Lacy to help shoulder the burden. 

After a sullen start initiated by 34 rushing yards at Seattle, the second-year back has caught fire. Over the last eight games, Lacy has compiled 759 rushing yards with 5.2 yards per carry. Yet he is also limping to the championship clash, held back in Thursday's practice with a knee injury.

Per the team's Twitter page, Mike McCarthy insisted his starting back will be fine for Sunday.

Not only do the Packers need a strong performance from Lacy, but they need to contain Marshawn Lynch, who gained 110 rushing yards and two scores during their Week 1 showdown. Green Bay ranks 20 spots behind Seattle in rushing defense at No. 23.

That discrepancy can't show if the Packers want to bring the Lombardi Trophy home.

Seahawks: Make More Explosive Plays

Explosive is not a word commonly designated for Seattle's offense, which ranked No. 27 in passing yards during the season. No team, however, produced more explosive plays—categorized as passes of 16-plus yards and runs of 12 or more yards—during the season.

The Seahawks continued to advance down the field in bunches against the Carolina Panthers. Seven of Russell Wilson's 15 completions, including all three touchdown passes, met the explosive play qualifier.

Steve Dykes/Getty Images

Those killer strikes are no accident. Head coach Pete Carroll discussed the importance of those big plays his unheralded receivers frequently make to Seahawks.com's Tony Drovetto:

"

I don’t care about credit. I don’t care about that. That’s something that we really cherish, explosive plays, because we know that those determine scores in drives, so it’s a big deal. For us to continue to see that in our game, it makes us hard to defend.

"

Seattle's stifling defense is the team's heart and soul, but the dangerous offense does not receive its proper recognition. Although the Seahawks won't need to win a shootout, they'll need a few more explosive plays to fend off Rodgers and Co.