Everybody in the United States and plenty of folks around the world will be tuned in to the Super Bowl on Sunday night, watching the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots battle in the Arizona desert. The contest is a tough pick for most experts, perhaps the most evenly matched game in years.
Super Bowl 2015 picks and predictions: Patriots emerging as favorites with the experts
When it comes to the Super Bowl, everybody has an opinion. We whittle it down to the experts.
New England comes into the contest looking for its first Super Bowl win since 2004. Tom Brady is setting a record for quarterbacks with his sixth Super Bowl appearance, sporting a 3-2 record in his previous five contests. Head coach Bill Belichick is also making his sixth appearance as a head coach in the big game, only matched by Don Shula of the Baltimore Colts and Miami Dolphins.
Seattle is aiming to become the first repeat Super Bowl champion since the 2003-04 Patriots. The Seahawks needed a miracle to beat the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship after trailing 19-7 with under five minutes remaining in regulation. Yet, Seattle was able to pull it out and now faces New England, a team its hasn't played since beating the Patriots in the 2012 regular season.
The predictions are varied across the NFL landscape, speaking to how even these two teams appear to be. Here at SB Nation, the guys took their best shots and went with Seattle over New England by a 4-3 ratio. However, the OddsShark computer leveled the picks, siding with the Patriots to win their fourth Super Bowl title.
Over at The MMQB, Greg A. Bedard is going with the Patriots in a tight, low-scoring 16-13 game.
Some of the experts at ESPN have made their selections, and New England is getting a bulk of the love. Of the nine men making picks, only former NFL players Mike Golic and Eric Allen believe Seattle will win. The eight analysts at CBS Sports are also favoring New England, but not by much. Five are taking the Patriots, with Jared Dubin, John Breech and Dave Richard selecting the NFC champions.
Neil Greenberg of the Washington Post did a terrific statistical breakdown of the game and has the Patriots winning by a field goal, 23-20. When EA Sports ran the Madden ‘15 simulator, New England also came out the victor, topping Seattle, 28-24, per Sports Illustrated.
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