The football gods have smiled upon us this season. When the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks face off for the NFL championship, it will be a matchup of the league’s best defense against the best offense in the history of the game.
This is sure to be a game for the ages. In every aspect of this game it will be strength versus strength.
The Broncos boast the best passing offense while the Seahawks counter with the best passing defense.
The Seahawks have Marshawn Lynch ready to go beastmode against a Broncos defense that has allowed only one 100 yard rusher all season.
Peyton Manning is looking to cement his legacy as the greatest quarterback of all time while Richard Sherman is looking to end the debate over who is the best cornerback.
With all of those stories sure to make this game one for the ages, it’s time for me to make some bold predictions.
Peyton Manning will finish this season with a bang.
Manning has been playing like a man possessed this year, having statistically the best single season ever for a quarterback.
Seattle has an incredible defense that matches up reasonably well against the juggernaut that is the Broncos offense but even this great defense won’t be able to slow them down.
Even if Richard Sherman manages to shut down Demaryius Thomas and Byron Maxwell can stop Eric Decker, there are still far too many weapons for the Broncos.
With their first two options out of the game, the Broncos would be forced to rely on Wes Welker, Julius Thomas and Knowshon Moreno.
The Broncos have five pro bowl caliber options for Peyton Manning to choose from. No matter how good Richard Sherman thinks that he is, he can’t stop everyone.
The Prediction: Manning will throw for over 300 yards and 3 TDs on Sunday.
Someone will go beast mode and it won’t be Marshawn Lynch.
The Broncos run defense has been dominant all season only allowing one person to go over 100 yards on them (Ryan Matthews).
This trend will continue on Sunday when the Broncos will load up the box and dare Russell Wilson to beat them through the air.
Terrance Knighton will continue to be a dominant force up the middle and will help to bottle up Lynch and keep him to under 100 yards.
Meanwhile Knowshon Moreno will be able to run all over the field as Seattle has to focus on stopping Manning and company.
Moreno very quietly put up solid numbers this season in a pass happy offense, rushing for over 1,000 yards and a solid 4.3 yards per carry.
The Prediction: Moreno will rush for over 150 yards while Lynch only manages 50.
Champ Bailey seizes the moment.
Bailey has been one of the best cornerbacks in the game over the past 14 seasons and is arguably the best that has ever played the game (Deion Sanders might have him beat).
But this season has been a bit of a lost cause for him as he only played in five games and didn’t make much of a contribution.
That will change on Super Bowl Sunday. Champ will give this game everything that he has left and will be the impact player that Broncos fans are used to seeing.
Bailey has never made it to a Super Bowl in his long and storied career and now he finally has a chance, I do not see him letting that go to waste.
The Prediction: Champ Bailey will have an interception while Richard Sherman does not.
The Broncos ride off into the sunset as champions.
The Broncos simply have too many weapons. Even a great defense like the Seahawks just cannot matchup against them.
The emotional edge also sits with the Broncos. As the Ravens rode the emotion of Ray Lewis last season, the Broncos will play that much harder to get rings for Manning and Bailey.
The Seahawks will struggle to run against a stout Broncos defensive line and fast linebackers.
This will force Wilson to throw against Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Champ Bailey. This will prove to be too much for Seattle’s offense to overcome.
The Seattle Seahawks will have their day, it is just not this day. This day is for Peyton Manning and Denver Broncos.
The Prediction: The Denver Broncos will defeat the Seattle Seahawks 34-17 in Super Bowl XLVIII.