Super Bowl 49: Time For Another Blowout

Seattle Seahawks fans sat down expecting a competitive game and hoping for a ticket to the Super Bowl. The game started out frustrating and quickly became terrifying, with the ‘Hawks playing a limp, uninspired brand of football. It wasn’t until late in the game that they came alive and stormed all the way back, eventually winning a nail-biter to be crowned NFC champs.

More from Emerald City Swagger

That sounds familiar because it just happened, a week ago. But it also happened 53 weeks ago, when the Seahawks overcame a slow start to beat the San Francisco 49ers in the 2014 NFC Championship game. Like last week’s victory over the Green Bay Packers, Seattle trailed for most of the game before mounting an improbably dramatic comeback. And like last week’s victory, that game was played with a trip to the Super Bowl hanging in the balance.

Come to think of it, there’s a lot of parallels between this year’s Super Bowl opponent and the one from last time around. Elite old guy quarterback on a team that’s the consensus best in the AFC. Storied franchise just looking to lock down another Lombardi trophy. But maybe there’s another parallel on the way – maybe there’s another Super Bowl blowout on the horizon, just as there was a year ago.

The 2014 champs played poorly, turning things around late and playing at their highest level possible in order to cap the comeback. Next time they hit the field they played at that same high level for sixty minutes and outscored their Super Bowl opponent by 35 points. A Super Bowl opponent who was considered the very best the AFC had to offer.

The 2015 ‘Hawks played really, really poorly in the NFC Championship game until they suddenly started playing at their new highest level. They capped the comeback, and now they’re just one week away from playing the AFC’s very best. And we know, thanks to last year’s Super Bowl, what they’re capable of doing against the AFC’s very best.

Should you expect the Seahawks to blow the New England Patriots out of the water? Absolutely not. That’d be ridiculous! But such an outcome is definitely within the realm of possibility, and it’s the only Seahawks Super Bowl outcome for which we have recent precedent. The Patriots are a supremely good team. So were the Broncos a year ago. We all saw what happened to the Broncos.

There’s no telling if the Seahawks have “momentum.” Momentum simply means “they were doing good, and now they still are.” Momentum isn’t predictive, and there’s no telling what can go on in the weeks off between conference championships and league championship. But notice the Patriots have been dealing with a cheating scandal while the Seahawks have been dealing with… the NFL really hating Marshawn Lynch? No word on “momentum,” but the ‘Hawks sure do seem to be winning the “distractions” game.

And you know what, every little thing counts. We have reason to believe the Seahawks will be calm, prepared, and ready to destroy the Patriots’ world. Meanwhile, Tom Brady and Bill Belichik are out here giving press conferences about whether or not they cheated during the biggest game of their season. Maybe New England will be just as calm and prepared. But they’ve had to deal with some serious stuff during what’s supposed to be their time off to prepare for the biggest game of anyone’s season. It wouldn’t be a shock if they’re thrown off a little.

The Seahawks continue to turn it up another level when that’s what they need to do. They gave us quite the scare during the NFC Championship, but this is going to be different. This is the Super Bowl. The circumstances of this game are very similar to the circumstances of last year’s Super Bowl, which the Seahawks won in a blowout. Well, maybe it’s about time to do that all again.

Next: Super Bowl XLIX: Five Keys To Victory For Seattle Seahawks

Home/Seattle Seahawks