The daily fantasy league season is over for the NFL, but the Super Bowl is still about to happen. And that means that there is still excitement to be had with the season. Whether you’re just watching the game at home with some friends, or actively wagering on it, Super Bowl Sunday is one of the most exciting evenings of the sports year.
However you choose to enjoy the big game, there are some things to watch out for. First, there are some interesting matchups that will see some attention. First, the receivers for the Seahawks versus New England’s defense. The Patriots do not have the best defense in this game, but the wide receivers for the Seahawks are notoriously weak this year, and have not been producing over the course of the postseason. And as strong as the Seahawks’ defense is, without a good performance from their offense, they cannot win this game. Sure, they will be able to limit the number of points that the Patriots score, but if they are not ahead of the game on their offense, too, Seattle will lose. They have the capability to perform well, but they haven’t shown any evidence that they will for this game yet.
The other big matchup to watch is between Russell Wilson and Tom Brady. The two quarterbacks are pretty even in ability on paper, with Brady having a slight advantage. Wilson has age on his side as he’s a few years younger than Brady. Wilson is 26 and Brady is 37. Brady has kept good care of himself, but the statistics don’t lie; younger quarterbacks have more agility, speed, and can often be more aggressive. Sometimes this pans out, and sometimes it backfires. Brady is a big game player, and while there’s nothing bigger than the Super Bowl, his playing ability is pretty consistent, where Wilson has more room to surprise people than Brady. The Patriots are favorites, but the 2 points that they are favored by is not something that will be too difficult to overcome. Wilson is much better of a rushing QB than Brady, and if the Seattle defense plays like it can, Brady’s throwing game will be limited, and create yet another opportunity for the Seahawks to take advantage of.
Don’t be fooled, though. The Patriots are the better overall team, but that doesn’t mean that they are a lock. The Seahawks are great, too. They have more recent Super Bowl experience (they were last year’s champs) and have a more solid core of younger players. They are behind the Pats by 2 points on paper, but in the Super Bowl, anything is possible. It is a tense atmosphere and a little mistake can swing the game in an unpredictable direction. Also, consider the fact that the Seahawks have won 6 of their last 8 outings against the Patriots, covering the spread for the same number of games. And while the last time they met was October 14th of 2-12, the mental edge will still be on the Seahawks side of the ball simply because of past momentum. Brady is great at overcoming things like this, but he does not have a history of doing this against Seattle for some reason. It will be interesting to see what happens, and at the very least, it will help you to gain more information for next year’s one day fantasy play.
