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At the end of this weekend the teams for the 2015 Superbowl will be set. Superbowl XLIX will be contested by either Green Bay, Seattle, New England or Indianapolis.
This weekend they face off in the respective championship games for the shot at the title. The AFC championship will be contested by the number one seed New England Patriots, and the fourth seed Indianapolis Colts.
In the NFC championship it is a battle between the 1st and 2nd seed in the conference. The defending Superbowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks, will face the Green Bay Packers.
These four teams have all been dominant in the recent history of the NFL. Between them they have won six of the last 13 Superbowls dating back to 2002. New England, with wins in 2002, 2004, and 2005, has the most Superbowls in the millennium.
Seattle (2014), Green Bay (2010) and Indianapolis (2007) has all won once in the last 13 years. So who will it be this year?
Here is all the information you need to know about the championship games.
Monday 19th January
Seattle v Green Bay – Live on ESPN & 7mate – 7:00am – 10:30am AEDT*
New England v Indianapolis – Live on ESPN & 7mate – 10:30am – 2pm AEDT*
*Games may not finish at those times. Check local guides for more details during the day of the match.
AFC:
New England Patriots v Indianapolis Colts – 10:30am Monday
Head to Head last 17 matches – New England 12 Indianapolis 5
Last meeting – November 16 2014 – New England 42 Indianapolis 20
If the Colts are going to make the Superbowl this year, they will have to break records to get there. For starters they haven’t beaten the Patriots in an NFL match since 2009 when Peyton Manning was still at the team.
Since 2010, when New England defeated the Colts by three points, they have been on a five match unbeaten run. The Colts will have to break that record to make the Superbowl. The Colts have also struggled to win a match away from home in the AFC championship decider.
In the 45-year history of the AFC division the Colts – as either Baltimore or Indianapolis – have never won a match away from home to qualify for the Superbowl.
A win against the Patriots would be the first away win by the Colts in an AFC championship match. These two teams have history in the AFC decider. In 2006, on their way to the Superbowl, the Colts defeated the Patriots at home 38-34. That loss for the Patriots is one of only three in an AFC Championship decider.
Two of those defeats – out of the nine in their history – have come in successive years.
This match is ultimately about the attack of the two teams. New England is fourth and Indianapolis is sixth in points scored in 2014 In defence, the Patriots are better, conceding four points less than their division rivals.
With history against the Colts, I lean towards the Patriots. They will be hurting after losing their last two Championship deciders. Against the Colts they will make sure it isn’t three straight defeats.
PREDICTION – New England
NFC
Seattle Seahawks v Green Bay Packers – 7am Monday
Head to Head last ten – Seattle 4 Green Bay 6
Last meeting – September 4 2014 – Seattle 36 Green Bay 16
After meeting in the first round of the season, the Seahawks and the Packers will now face at the end of the season to decide the NFC championship.
This fixture has been a rare one in the NFL with this weekend’s meeting just the third in the last 5 years.
Those two meetings, in 2014 and 2012, have been different affairs. Last year’s meeting was dominated by Seattle as they won by 20 points.
In the other match between the two, it was much closer, with Seattle winning 14-12 on Monday Night Football. This is a match between attack and defence.
The Packers, who are number 1 in attack, will take on the number 1 defence in the Seahawks. During the regular season the Packers scored 30.4 points per game. In defence the Seahawks have allowed just 15.9 points per game.
In Week 1 they only conceded 16 points to Green Bay and kept Aaron Rodgers to less than 200 yards. This match will all be about how Rodgers goes against the defence. If he can beat them then the Packers will be in the Superbowl. If he can’t, then the Seahawks will qualify for the Superbowl.
The Seahawks have been brilliant in the last few weeks. I can’t see them being beaten at home and it will take a big effort from Green Bay to do it.
PREDICTION – Seattle
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