The 2014 NFL season will culminate Sunday night with Super Bowl XLIX. The big game pits the defending champion Seattle Seahawks against the best team of the previous decade, the New England Patriots.
Super Bowl 2015: Live stream and how to watch Patriots vs. Seahawks online
The hot takes portion of the playoffs is finally over.
The two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl were dominated by discussion of off-the-field topics. The Patriots brought about the omnipresent DeflateGate as the result of accusations that the team illegally deflated its footballs. The NFL is currently investigating the situation and has reportedly “honed in” on a New England locker room staffer as the possible culprit. Whether or not any malfeasance is uncovered, the cloud hanging over the team has indeed become a distraction, with head coach Bill Belichick and Tom Brady forced to discuss the matter multiple times during media availability. Even owner Robert Kraft has weighed in, demanding an apology if the league is unable to prove definitely that the Patriots illegally tampered with the footballs.
As for the Seahawks, they've had to deal with the downpour of media anger over Marshawn Lynch's continued insistence on providing non-answers to questions. Lynch has a long history of hostility toward the media. After a Seahawks game against Arizona in November, Lynch gave short, often one-word answers such as, "Yeah." He increased his word count to three about a month later, responding to every query with, "Thanks for asking." Lynch was at it again this week at Media Day when he said, "I'm here so I won't get fined" to every question. While most in the media have chosen to move onto more important stories, others have decided to take stronger stances against Lynch's combative behavior.
Fortunately, all of the attention to off-the-field matters will dissipate once the game begins, and it’s a heck of a matchup. The Patriots have remained one of the league’s top teams for well over a decade. Since the start of the 2001 season, the Patriots have only missed the postseason twice. In both instances, they fell just a game short of a playoff berth. The nucleus during their run has been the coach-quarterback pairing of Belichick and Brady. Because of the skills of the duo, New England has been able to change its identity multiple times during that stretch. The squads from the first few years leaned heavily on the run game while the teams that twice faced the New York Giants in the Super Bowl were more pass-oriented. The version of the team that will take the field Sunday falls somewhere in between.
Meanwhile, Seattle has stayed true to its simple approach to football. On offense, the Seahawks look to feed superstar running back Marshawn Lynch as much as possible. Because of Lynch's strength and patient running style, he has become one of the league's most dangerous runners. He can accelerate quickly into the hole and break through most single-man tackles at the second level. He also possesses an extra gear for when he reaches the open field. But there's another feared rusher in Seattle. Quarterback Russell Wilson ran for 849 yards this year on only 118 attempts. That production was good for 16th best in the NFL and qualified for the top 10 all-time for a quarterback over a single season. With both Lynch and Wilson working the backfield, the Patriots defense will be challenged.
The New England Patriots enter the Sunday’s game with a record of 14-4 counting the playoffs. The Seattle Seahawks also come in at 14-4.
In addition to the United States broadcast, the game can be viewed internationally in over 45 countries. Some of the larger countries broadcasting the game include Italy, Sweden, England, Australia, Germany, Mexico and Canada. The Super Bowl is also being broadcasted on the radio in the latter two countries.
How to watch
Where: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale
When: 6:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Announcers: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michelle Tafoya
Radio
Canada: Kevin Harlan, Boomer Esiason on Westwood One
England: Rocky Boiman and Darren Fletcher on BBC Radio 5 Live
TV
England: Channel 4, Sky Sports, BBC Radio 5 Live
Russia: NTV+
Mexico: Televisa, FOX Sports, TV Azteca, ESPN
Italy: FOX Sports 2 HD, Italia 1 HD
Germany: SAT:1
Canada: NBC simulcast on CTV, RDS
Australia: Seven Network, 7mate and ESPN
Odds
The Seahawks are 2-point favorites, according to OddsShark.
Further reading
For more on the Patriots, check out Pats Pulpit. For additional coverage of the Seahawks, head on over to Field Gulls.
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