Morgan Drake

After winning their respective conferences on Jan. 18, 2015, the New England Patriots and 2014 Super Bowl Champs, the Seattle Seahawks will face off for a Super Bowl Championship. The road to the Super Bowl wasn’t an easy one. The NFL playoffs consist of four rounds: wild card, divisional, conference, and finally, the Super Bowl.

The New England Patriots clinched a first round bye in the playoffs after defeating the New York Jets 17-16 in regular season. In the divisional round, they faced the Baltimore Ravens. They trailed a total of three times (twice being by 14 points), but managed to come back. Although the Ravens got the ball back, Joe Flacco’s “Hail Mary” attempt in the final seconds of the game was knocked down. The Patriots defeated the Ravens 35-31, advancing them to the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Patriots showed no mercy to the Colts, who managed only 209 yards with three turnovers. The final score was 45-7.

The Seattle Seahawks are hoping to have back to back Super Bowl wins after crushing the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. The Seahawks, like the Patriots, clinched a first round bye moving them straight to the divisional round. There they faced the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers kept it close up until halftime, but the Seahawks took over during the second half, including a 90 yard pick-six by strong safety, Kam Chancellor. The 31-17 win led them to the NFC Championship against the Green Bay Packers. After five turnovers in the first half, the Seahawks were down 16-0 by halftime. The Seahawks again dominated the second half, closing the lead and scoring two touchdowns in only the last 2:09 of the fourth quarter. Green Bay scored a field goal, forcing the game into overtime, but failed to stop the Seahawks from scoring the game winning touchdown, thus giving Seattle an unexpected 28-22 win over the Packers.