Super Bowl LX week is officially here and the Seattle Seahawks are ready to battle the New England Patriots for its second championship since it beat the Denver Broncos in the 48th installment of the big game.

It’s a very enticing matchup that features two dynamic quarterbacks and two defenses that have straight-up smothered its opponents in the playoffs. Both coaching staffs are top-tier, also, as Mike Macdonald and Mike Vrabel have completely exceeded expectations in the early-goings of their respective time with each team.

A quick pivot: There always has to be bold predictions attached to a big game, especially the Super Bowl. So, let’s stop wasting time and make the calls for the Seahawks’ side of things.

Kenneth Walker III leads the Seahawks in total yards and touchdowns

Walker III had a career-best regular season and he’s upped his game to the next level in the playoffs. He’s averaging 128.0 total yards per game, 5.7 yards per touch, and has four rushing touchdowns over the last two games.

It hasn’t been a smash mouth, run-it-down-your-throat type situation, either. Walker III has been highly efficient – he’s yet to carry the ball 20 times in a game and he’s caught all seven of his targets. Per Pro Football Focus, he averages 3.25 yards per route run this postseason, which is higher than both Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Puka Nacua.

That’ll continue this week against a Patriots team that’s made opposing offenses miserable during the postseason. Per Sumer Sports, running backs average -0.324 EPA per play against the Pats defense, which is an absolutely dreadful mark and easily leads all playoff squads.

And that’s why this is a bold prediction: Walker III’s upcoming success against the Patriots would break the mold for running backs this year.

Mike Vrabel’s defense has been solid against running backs all year long, but that’ll cease on Sunday once Walker III has the ball in his hands. The explosive back will eat ’til the point where he leads the team in both total yards and touchdowns, which also puts him in the conversation for Super Bowl MVP. – Evan Winter, A to Z Tampa Bay

Jaxon Smith-Njigba joins Jerry Rice in truly elite company

I can totally see Walker going off like Evan said, but I’ve gotta roll with Smith-Njigba, here.

The Seahawks star WR led the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards but not once did he exceed 200 yards in a single game. I say he goes over 200 yards in Super Bowl LX, joining Rice as the only wide receiver to ever do so in the big game.

Smith-Njigba did have 11 games with over 100 receiving yards, including the NFC Championship Game, in which he torched the Los Angeles Rams for 153 yards on 10 catches. With Drake Maye on the opposite sideline, I think the Seahawks will need to score more points than people expect, and Smith-Njigba will be Sam Darnold’s guy, yet again.

The Patriots defense is very good and CB Christian Gonzalez has been a shutdown corner this postseason, but Darnold-JSN is the best QB-WR duo they’ve faced in the playoffs. Additionally, the Patriots are inconsistent rushing the passer so I expect Darnold to have a relatively clean outing. – Mauricio Rodriguez, A to Z Dallas

Seattle’s defense puts on another historical performance like it did in Super Bowl XLVIII

Yea, the Seahawks have an electric offense, but can’t forget about their stellar defense created by one of the best, if not the best, defensive minds in Mike Macdonald.

Macdonald’s crew is getting a chance to face a Patriots team with multiple rookie starters while aspiring to push the ball down the field. Those efforts haven’t gone well for New England throughout the postseason and now, to boot, Macdonald gets two weeks to prep for this game.

It all feels to me like a recipe for chaos when New England has to drop back and pass the football. The Seahawks had six players all finish between 6-7 (six-seven!) sacks on the season between Uchenna Nwosu, Byron Murphy, Leonard Williams, and Demarcus Lawrence. Having that kind of interior pressure threat, plus the likes of Nick Emmanwori as a pressure threat, feels like one of the biggest mismatch opportunities of the game.

I would suspect that Seattle takes advantage, just as I would suspect Maye is going to be encouraged to live to fight another down and not let the turnovers snowball on them. The Los Angeles Rams were the last team to achieve seven sacks of an opposing quarterback in the Super Bowl when they tagged Joe Burrow seven times — plus a near sack on the deciding fourth down in the final moments.

Like Super Bowl XLVIII, the Seahawks defense will find a way to place itself in history thanks to another smothering performance. – Kyle Crabbs, A to Z NFL

Rasheed Shaheed also brings back old Super Bowl memories

Back in 2013, the Seahawks traded first- and seventh-round picks to the Minnesota Vikings to acquire wide receiver and return specialist Percy Harvin. In Super Bowl XLVIII, Harvin opened the second half with an 87-yard return for a touchdown, killing whatever chance the Denver Broncos had to comeback.

Wouldn’t it be cool to have a similar story happening once again for Seattle? Ahead of the trade deadline in November, the Seahawks sent fourth- and fifth-round picks to the New Orleans Saints to acquire wide receiver and return specialist Rashid Shaheed. So far, he has been spectacular for Seattle — which included opening the divisional round game against the San Francisco 49ers with a huge kickoff return for a touchdown.

The bold prediction is Shaheed does it again in the Super Bowl. There’s a significant difference in special teams quality between these two squads — the Seahawks finished the regular season second in DVOA, while the Patriots came in at 20th.

With Shaheed being such an impactful weapon from the get go, a Super Bowl touchdown to replicate what happened 12 years ago would be the cherry on top. – Wendell Ferreira, A to Z Green Bay

Neither Sam Darnold (and Drake Maye) nab Super Bowl MVP in this game

And last but not least, we can’t have a bold predictions post that doesn’t include at least something about the quarterback position.

Sam Darnold and Drake Maye are the current two favorites to be named Super Bowl MVP. One look at the recent history of the award, though, and it shouldn’t shock you that the QBs are leading the way right now.

Quarterbacks have won Super Bowl MVP for the last three years, and seven of the previous 10. The most recent non-QB to earn the honor is actually a player set to play in this game, WR Cooper Kupp, who was with the Los Angeles Rams at the time.

I’m with Mauricio – I think we see another WR join Kupp in the elite club with Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba as my Super Bowl MVP pick.

JSN has been elite all season and is a top candidate for the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year award. He’s scored a touchdown in both of the Seahawks’ playoff games and his latest performance also included a 10-catch, 153-yard outing. I think we see him find the end zone, yet again, and surpass both of those totals in the Super Bowl.

And if he does that, he should add a Super Bowl MVP to his lengthy list of accolades for this season. – Destin Adams, A to Z Indianapolis

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