Patriots vs. Seahawks: Super Bowl 2015 MVP Odds and Top X-Factors to Watch
Linebacker Malcolm Smith took home the Super Bowl MVP trophy last season for the Seattle Seahawks, and he is back again to defend his title. The only thing is, he is the longest of long shots to do it.
After all, the clash between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks features plenty of star power in Tom Brady, Marshawn Lynch, Russell Wilson, Richard Sherman and more, and a quarterback won the Super Bowl MVP in each of the four years before Smith.
With that in mind, here is a look at the essential information for the Super Bowl, the MVP odds and the top X-factors to watch during the game.
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Super Bowl 2015
Matchup: New England Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks
Date: Sunday, Feb. 1
Time: 6:30 p.m.
TV: NBC
Spread: Patriots -1 (via Odds Shark, as of Thursday at 3 p.m. ET)
MVP Odds: (via Odds Shark, as of Thursday at 3 p.m. ET)
| Tom Brady 8/5 | New England Patriots | 8-5 |
| Russell Wilson 7/2 | Seattle Seahawks | 7-2 |
| Marshawn Lynch 4/1 | Seattle Seahawks | 4-1 |
| Rob Gronkowski 9/1 | New England Patriots | 9-1 |
| LeGarrette Blount 12/1 | New England Patriots | 12-1 |
| Julian Edelman 25/1 | New England Patriots | 25-1 |
| Darrelle Revis 33/1 | New England Patriots | 33-1 |
| Doug Baldwin 33/1 | Seattle Seahawks | 33-1 |
| Kam Chancellor 33/1 | Seattle Seahawks | 33-1 |
| Richard Sherman 33/1 | Seattle Seahawks | 33-1 |
| Earl Thomas 40/1 | Seattle Seahawks | 40-1 |
| Bobby Wagner 50/1 | Seattle Seahawks | 50-1 |
| Jamie Collins 50/1 | New England Patriots | 50-1 |
| Jermaine Kearse 50/1 | Seattle Seahawks | 50-1 |
| Brandon LaFell 66/1 | New England Patriots | 66-1 |
| Shane Vereen 66/1 | New England Patriots | 66-1 |
| Danny Amendola 75/1 | New England Patriots | 75-1 |
| K.J. Wright 75/1 | Seattle Seahawks | 75-1 |
| Byron Maxwell 100/1 | Seattle Seahawks | 100-1 |
| Devin McCourty 100/1 | New England Patriots | 100-1 |
| Dont'a Hightower 100/1 | New England Patriots | 100-1 |
| Luke Willson 100/1 | Seattle Seahawks | 100-1 |
| Malcolm Smith 100/1 | Seattle Seahawks | 100-1 |
| Patrick Chung 100/1 | New England Patriots | 100-1 |
| Rob Ninkovich 100/1 | New England Patriots | 100-1 |
| Stephen Gostkowski 100/1 | New England Patriots | 100-1 |
| Steven Hauschka 100/1 | Seattle Seahawks | 100-1 |
| Field 25/1 | -- | 25-1 |
X-Factors
Seahawks Run Defense vs. LeGarrette Blount
Many of the pregame discussions leading up to the Super Bowl have focused on Brady going up against Sherman and the Seahawks secondary—and rightly so. However, the ability of the Patriots to run the ball against the Seattle front seven will go a long way toward determining the outcome.
After all, the Seahawks were third in the league against the run in total yardage allowed and second in the league in yards allowed per carry.
New England running back LeGarrette Blount discussed the task ahead of him, per Jeff Pini of Boston.com:
"Obviously they’re a pretty good defense. They were good enough to get here, they were good enough to get here last year, so we are going to put a plan together to hopefully make sure we come out victorious.
I don’t care about them being the top defense, that doesn’t bother me. They were good enough to get here, just like we were good enough to get here. They’re not immortal. They can be beaten.
"
He may actually be right, but it takes a special effort to beat the Seahawks on the ground. In Seattle’s four losses this season, it gave up 190 rushing yards to the Kansas City Chiefs, 102 rushing yards to the St. Louis Rams, 162 rushing yards to the Dallas Cowboys and 101 rushing yards to the San Diego Chargers.
In the playoffs, the Seahawks allowed 132 rushing yards to the Carolina Panthers and 135 rushing yards to the Green Bay Packers.
Seattle may be a dominant force on the defensive side, but it has been beaten on the ground before.
If the Patriots are going to do that, it will be behind Blount’s physical running style and ability to smash the ball through the tackles. Since returning to New England, Blount averaged 4.7 yards per carry during the regular season and torched the Indianapolis Colts for 148 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground in the AFC Championship Game.
For as great as Brady is, he is going to need some help from the running game if he hopes to beat the dominant Seahawks defense. It has been done before, but Seattle was still third in the league against the run for a reason. The winner of the battle between Blount and the Seahawks front seven could determine the winner of the Lombardi Trophy.
Seahawks’ Ability to Connect on the Play-Action Pass
Few teams, if any, rely on the rushing attack more than the Seahawks, and they finished the season first in the league in rushing yards per game.
Lynch and Wilson control the pace of games with the read-option, and that could cause problems for the Patriots defense. What’s more, ESPN Stats & Info shared a rather shocking stat that highlighted just how reliant Seattle is on the rushing game:
If fans and commentators have access to that type of information, the Patriots certainly do as well. They will focus on stopping the running game and Lynch by stuffing the box with extra defenders. If Seattle is going to win, it may need to connect on a couple of deep play-action passes to open up that box for the second half.
Seattle may not feature a number of game-changing receivers, but misdirection will work against a vulnerable Patriots defense that was 17th in the league against the pass this season. At a certain point, it becomes a numbers game, and the Seahawks won’t be able to run nearly as effectively against eight-man boxes.
That is when Wilson will have to win the game with his arm.
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