Venue: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ Date: February 2 Time: 6:25pm EST Network: Fox Halftime: Bruno Mars, Red Hot Chili Peppers Full Time: Seahawks 43:8 Broncos

Super Bowl XLVIII

Seattle Seahawks (NFC) Vs. Denver Broncos (AFC)

Seattle Seahawks

Representing the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL), the Seattle Seahawks are in their 38th season. Their 2013 season record of 13-3 is tied for the best ever in the history of a franchise. Pete Carroll, who is leading them as head coach for the fourth season, must be a pretty happy man. In the Divisional Round, they got the better of the New Orleans Saints 23-15, and in the NFC Championship, they defeated San Francisco 49ers 23-17. At the start of the season, the Seahawks had odds of 17/2 for winning the Super Bowl.

Denver Broncos

Representing the American Football Conference (AFC), the Denver Broncos are in their 44th season in the NFL. They come into this Super Bowl game with a season record of 13-3. In the Divisional Round, they defeated the San Diego Chargers 24-17, and in the AFC Championship, they won against the New England Patriots 26-16. Coming into the season with odds of 6/1, the Broncos were favorites to win Super Bowl XLVIII, along with the San Francisco 49ers. This is head coach John Fox's third year at the helm of affairs for the Broncos.

The predicted weather conditions in the 'Garden State' have all of us on edge, and so do the odds for the big game. If you were some poor soul who has no NFL knowledge, and was kidnapped, airlifted, and dropped onto American soil right now, and told to take your pick on who would win the big game, hearing all the chatter around, you would go with the Broncos. But wait, though it's a good probability, it isn't that straightforward. Firstly, we have the number 1 seeds from each conference pitted against each other for only the second time since the 1993 season, though the course of the 2013 season has been pretty unpredictable to say the least. An important point to make is that, the Broncos have scored at least 20 points or more in every game this season, but still, they haven't yet faced a defense as good as the Seahawks'. You guessed it right. This Super Bowl will see the best offense face off with the best defense. While Peyton Manning might have broken the records for passing touchdowns and yards in a single season, he will be up against the formidable defense backs trio of Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, and Earl Thomas. So, though the Broncos will find ways in which to move the football around, the Seahawks' defense is strong enough to keep then from running away with the score. After all, statistically, this has been the 4th best defense in NFL history, so things aren't going to be easy. Though the Broncos have the edge in offense, they cannot win without help from their defense and special teams. Seattle's unique Cover 3 hybrid defense will make things difficult for the Broncos, and taking this and the season trends into account, it seems like that the Broncos will score more in the second half of the game, and go on to win, but just.