New England Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks: An Early Look at Super Bowl XLIX

And it all comes down to this.

A pair of No. 1 seeds now get to determine which one is the NFL's No. 1 team for the second straight year.

The AFC’s New England Patriots and the NFC’s Seattle Seahawks, both owners of a 12-4 regular-season record and a 2-0 postseason mark in 2014, get ready to clash in Super Bowl XLIX.

There is less than two weeks before kickoff, but that won’t prevent us from giving you a brief sneak peek ahead. From breakdowns of the franchises to Super Bowl history and more, we’ll get you started when it comes to your preparation for the Big Game, set for Feb. 1.

So here’s an early look (emphasis on early) when it comes to the 49th edition of the Super Bowl. Keep in mind that win-loss records in the ensuing playoff matchups do include this year’s postseason results.

Super Bowl XLIX: (AFC) New England Patriots vs. (NFC) Seattle Seahawks

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Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

(1) New England Patriots (14-4) vs. (1) Seattle Seahawks (14-4)

Sunday, Feb. 1

6:30 p.m. ET (NBC)

It’s safe to say that we’re a long way away from 1993, when the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks (a member of the AFC West at the time) owned the first two picks in the draft that April and selected Drew Bledsoe and Rick Mirer, respectively.

Three years later, Bledsoe would lead the team to Super Bowl XXXI, a 35-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers. His sideline boss was Pro Football Hall of Famer Bill Parcells, and on the staff as well was a coach by the name of Bill Belichick, who had the title of assistant head coach/defensive backs.

The year after the team fell short to the Packers, Parcells and Belichick moved on to the New York Jets. The new head coach of the Patriots would be Pete Carroll, who had enjoyed a one-year stint as the Jets’ head coach in 1994.

As usual, things come full circle.

This will mark the 17th meeting between the Patriots and Seahawks and the first in the postseason, with both clubs each winning eight times. As for the last encounter between the franchises, Russell Wilson and Co. rallied for a 24-23 victory over New England in 2012 at Seattle.

Patriots vs. Seathawks: Teams' Postseason History

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New England Patriots

Postseason Record: 27-18

Prior to the arrival of head coach Bill Belichick in 2000, the Patriots owned a 7-10 postseason record and had not won an NFL title. Dating back to 2001, New England is 20-8 in the playoffs and is making its sixth Super Bowl appearance, winning three titles.

The Patriots’ 27 postseason wins now rank fifth in NFL history, trailing only the Dallas Cowboys (34), Pittsburgh Steelers (33), Green Bay Packers (31) and San Francisco 49ers (30).

Seattle Seahawks

Postseason Record: 14-12

The Seahawks are the first team to reach consecutive Super Bowls since the New England Patriots in 2003 and 2004. The team has now won five straight postseason games, dating back to 2013, including Super Bowl XLVIII a year ago.

Seattle simply does not have the storied playoff history as the Patriots or some other NFL franchises. Of course, this is a team that didn’t join the National Football League until 1976 but is certainly making up for lost time as of late. This season marks the ninth time in 12 years the team reached the postseason, a feat the organization managed only five times in its first 24 years of existence (1976-1999).

Patriots and Seahawks: Super Bowl History

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New England Patriots (3-4)

The Patriots are making a record-tying eighth Super Bowl appearance and look to become just the sixth franchise to win at least four Lombardi Trophies.

New England won three Super Bowls in a four-year span from 2001-2004, defeating the St. Louis Rams, 20-17, in Super Bowl XXXVI at the Louisiana Superdome, the Carolina Panthers, 32-29, in Super Bowl XXXVIII at Houston and the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-21, in Super Bowl XXXIX at Jacksonville.

On the other hand, the Pats have come up short four times, losing Super Bowl XX to the Chicago Bears Bears, 46-10, and Super Bowl XXXI to the Green Bay Packers, 35-21—both of those games at the Superdome. The Patriots also dropped Super Bowls XLII and XLVI to the New York Giants, the first at Glendale (17-14) and the last at Indianapolis (21-17).

With a loss to the Seahawks, the Patriots would become just the second franchise to lose five Super Bowls, joining the Denver Broncos.

Seattle Seahawks (1-1)

The Seattle Seahawks are making their third Super Bowl appearance, all of those coming in the last 10 seasons.

Back in 2005, the team fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-10, in Super Bowl XL at Detroit. A year ago, the Seahawks crushed the Denver Broncos, 43-8, in Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

One year after becoming the 19th NFL franchise to win a Super Bowl, Seattle looks to become the 13th club to win at least two Super Bowls.

As we know, the last team to repeat as Super Bowl champion was the Patriots, who won Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX in 2003 and 2004, respectively. However, the last time we saw a defending NFL champion lose the Super Bowl was 1997, when the Denver Broncos upset the Green Bay Packers (winners of XXXI) in Super Bowl XXXII at San Diego, 31-24.

Quarterbacks

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Tom Brady, New England Patriots

Postseason Record as Starter: 20-8

Career Playoff Statistics: 646-of-1,035 (62.4 percent), 7,017 yards, 49 TD, 24 INT

The numbers are impressive indeed. No player in NFL history has thrown for more yards and more touchdowns in the postseason than Brady, who in two weeks will become the first quarterback to start six Super Bowls.

In these playoffs, Brady has connected on 65.9 percent of his passes (56-of-85) for 593 yards and six scores (two interceptions) in the wins over the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts, leading his team to a combined 80 points in those victories.

With a win in Super Bowl XLIX, Brady will join Hall of Famers Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana with four Super Bowl victories as starting quarterbacks. If by chance he’s named MVP versus the Seahawks, he would join Montana as the only three-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player.

Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks

Postseason Record as Starter: 6-1

Career Playoff Statistics: 111-of-181 (61.3 percent), 1,573 yards, 10 TD, 5 INT

The third-round pick from the University of Wisconsin is back in his second Super Bowl in just three NFL seasons, an unprecedented feat. It’s pretty impressive considering the way things started against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC title game.

In 17 games prior to the conference-championship tilt, including the playoff win over the Carolina Panthers, Wilson has committed a mere seven turnovers all season—all interceptions. Against Green Bay, he was picked off four times and still rallied his team from a 16-0 deficit to win.

But late against the Packers, he would run for one score, connect on an improbable two-point conversion with tight end Luke Willson and then throw the game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Jermaine Kearse in overtime.

Head Coaches

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Bill Belichick, New England Patriots

Postseason Record: 21-9 (1-1 with Browns, 20-8 with Patriots)

With the team’s 45-7 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game, Belichick continued his journey in the rare air.

His 21 postseason wins is a new NFL record for a head coach, surpassing Dallas Cowboys legend Tom Landry. He will also now join Hall of Famer Don Shula in taking a team to six Super Bowls as a head coach, with Belichick becoming the first to take the same club all six times. And with a win over the Seattle Seahawks in Glendale, he’ll join Chuck Noll as the only two head coaches to win four Super Bowls.

Including the postseason, only Shula (347), George Halas (324) and Tom Landry (270) have totaled more wins than Belichick (232), who has led the Patriots to the playoffs 12 times in his 15 seasons with the club.

Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks

Postseason Record: 8-4 (1-2 with Patriots, 7-2 with Seahawks)

The Super Bowl-champion sideline leader is now in position to become the first head coach since Belichick (who replaced Carroll in New England) to win two straight Super Bowls.

It’s been an interesting road for Carroll, who was the head coach of the New York Jets for one season in 1994. He eventually had a three-year stint with the Patriots, twice reaching the playoffs, before going on to have success as the leader of the USC Trojans.

In his first two seasons with the Seahawks, Carroll was a combined 14-18 but did win the NFC West with a 7-9 record in 2010. Over the last three years, Seattle is a combined 36-12 in the regular season and 6-1 in the playoffs, winning its last five postseason games.

Notable Statistics

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• For the first time under the current 12-team playoff format that dates back to 1990, the top two seeds in each conference will be meeting in the Super Bowl for a second consecutive year. Over the last 25 seasons, this marks only the fifth time (1991, 1993, 2009, 2013 and 2014) that we will see a pair of No. 1 seeds clash in the Super Bowl.
• Both Bill Belichick's New England Patriots and Pete Carroll's Seattle Seahawks finished with an NFL-best 12-4 record in 2014 (tied with three other clubs). That means for the second straight year, the Super Bowl champion will also be the team that also finished with the best win-loss mark in the league that season. Prior to 2013, the eventual Super Bowl champion did not finish with the best record in the NFL nine consecutive seasons. This marks the ninth time that both Super Bowl participants will have finished with the same regular-season win-loss record.
• For those who follow such things, the AFC won the regular-season series over the NFC in 2014 by one game (32-31-1). New England was 3-1 in interconference games this season, beating the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings, while losing to the Green Bay Packers. Seattle was 2-2 versus the AFC in 2014, defeating the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders, while losing to the San Diego Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs…
• So what is the most important statistic when it comes to winning playoff games? In the 2014 postseason, the 10 winners committed a combined 16 turnovers, while the 10 losing clubs coughed up the ball 22 times. If you lost the turnover battle in these playoffs, you were 2-5 (with three games tied in terms of number of turnovers. However, here’s something else to consider. The team with the most rushing yards in these playoffs was a mediocre 6-4. The club with the most rushing attempts by game’s end prevailed in eight of the 10 contests.
• How rare was the Seahawks’ 28-22 overtime win in Sunday’s NFC title game? The defending Super Bowl champions committed five turnovers by game’s end, marking the first time in 32 years that a team won a postseason game with that many turnovers. The New York Jets committed five turnovers in a 17-14 win over the Los Angeles Raiders in the 1982 AFC divisional playoffs.

Super Bowl History and Trends

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• The New England Patriots will be making a record-tying eighth Super Bowl appearance in two weeks. The Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers are co-owners of the mark with eight trips to the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks' return to the Big Game marks the 19th time that a team has made consecutive Super Bowl appearances. Defending Super Bowl champions own an 8-3 record in Super Bowls, with the Patriots (XXXVIII and XXXIX) the last team to successfully defend their title.
• With victories in five of the last seven Super Bowls, the NFL/NFC owns a combined 26-22 advantage over the AFL/AFC in the 48 previous Super Bowls.
• Just in case Pete Carroll’s team plans on duplicating their game plan from Sunday in Super Bowl XLIX, beware. Only three times in the previous 48 Super Bowls has a team committed more turnovers in the game and still emerged with a victory. The last team to lose the turnover battle and win the Super Bowl was the Pittsburgh Steelers, who defeated the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL.
• Just how important has ball security been in Super Bowl history? The combined turnover differential for the 48 winning teams in the Super Bowl is plus-99. The 48 champions have coughed up the football a combined 52 times. The 48 losing teams have committed an amazing 151 turnovers.
• Looking to get a prop bet on who the MVP of Super Bowl XLIX? We can get you in the ballpark in terms of position. The quarterback has been named Most Valuable Player 26 times in the prior 48 Super Bowls, followed by running backs (seven), wide receivers (six), linebackers (three), defensive backs (three), defensive linemen (twice: Cowboys defensive linemen Randy White and Harvey Martin, co-MVPs, and Bears defensive end Richard Dent) and kick returners (Green Bay’s Desmond Howard in Super Bowl XXXI).
• There are a few “nevers” when it comes to Super Bowls. We have not seen a game go into overtime, and a tight end has never been named the game’s MVP. There has also never been a punt returned for a score in a Super Bowl, although there have been 10 kickoff returns for touchdowns in 48 Super Bowls (six of those in a losing effort). The longest punt return in Super Bowl history is 45 yards, done by San Francisco 49ers receiver John Taylor in Super Bowl XXIII.
• Despite last year’s 43-8 blowout, recent Super Bowls have been very competitive. All told, 10 of the last 17 Super Bowls have been decided by seven points or less. Just seven of the first 31 Super Bowls were decided by seven points or less.

Matchups to Watch

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Patriots OLB Jamie Collins vs. Seahawks TE Luke Willson

Willson wasn’t the factor against the Packers that he had been in recent weeks, but he did have that crucial two-point conversion in the fourth quarter that gave Seattle a brief 22-19 lead.

Meanwhile, Collins has enjoyed a solid postseason. On Sunday, he totaled a team high four stops, knocked down a pass and picked off Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. A week earlier against the Ravens, he totaled a team-high 11 tackles and knocked down two passes.

Patriots RDE Chandler Jones vs. Seahawks LT Russell Okung

Despite missing a chunk of time during the regular season, Jones totaled six sacks in 2014. In last week’s victory over the Baltimore Ravens, he totaled four tackles and managed a pair of hits on Joe Flacco. On Sunday against the Colts, he managed only one tackle, but to be fair Indianapolis didn’t have the football a lot.

Okung and his linemates had their problems protecting Russell Wilson against the Packers as the Seattle quarterback was sacked five times in the game.

Patriots C Bryan Stork vs. Seahawks MLB Bobby Wagner

The pivot missed the AFC Championship Game (Ryan Wendell started against on Sunday), but we are anticipating he’ll return for this tilt. Minus Stork, the Patriots still managed to rush for 177 yards in the 45-7 AFC title game win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Not surprisingly, Wagner has been a busy man in the playoffs. The Pro Bowl defender totaled a combined 19 tackles in the victories over Carolina and Green Bay, 10 of those stops in Sunday’s overtime win over the Packers.

Patriots CB Darrelle Revis vs. Seahawks WR Jermaine Kearse

Kearse’s stat line vs. the Packers on Sunday reads one catch for 35 yards and a score.

However, what a catch it was. Kearse’s touchdown came in overtime and helped beat Green Bay, 28-22, in the NFC title game. The timely wideout was targeted six times on the afternoon and totaled just the one reception.

In his last four postseason games, Kearse has totaled only 10 catches. But he’s scored a touchdown in each of those games. With Revis looking like Darrelle Revis these days, it makes for an intriguing duel.

Super Bowl XLIX Prediction

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(AFC) New England Patriots (14-4) vs. (NFC) Seattle Seahawks (14-4)

The Seattle Seahawks can become the first team since the New England Patriots a mere 10 years ago to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

Do you think that the Pats want to prevent that from happening?

Yes and no. But the impetus is more to win a fourth Lombardi Trophy in 14 years rather than delay Seattle’s potential party.

Both of these teams can run the football with power with LeGarrette Blount and Marshawn Lynch. Both of these quarterbacks have gotten it done in the postseason despite some adversity. New England beat the Ravens in the divisional round after trailing by 14 points twice. Seattle upended the Packers in the NFC title game down 16-0 in the third quarter.

Each club has had its ups and downs on defense but rose to the occasion when necessary.

It will be interesting to see how the Seahawks deal with Rob Gronkowski. In 18 games this season, including the playoff wins over the Panthers and Packers, Seattle allowed only 20 touchdown passes. But 11 of those scores were by opposing tight ends, which is certainly eye-popping.

The Seahawks haven’t allowed a lot of touchdowns this season and may not in this game as well. But it won’t prevent the Pats from dethroning the champs and doing it with another three-point Super Bowl victory in what should be a thriller. And this time, Belichick and Co. leave Glendale with a Super win.

Prediction: New England Patriots 26, Seattle Seahawks 23