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Super Bowl XLIX – Five best bets for Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots in the Super Bowl

New England Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX takes place on Sunday night
The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks slug it out for the Vince Lombardi Trophy tonight, and we’ve picked out our FIVE best bets for Super Bowl XLIX…

The two top seeds are still standing in the race to lift the NFL’s most prestigious piece of silverware, and the bookies are expecting a close encounter when the Patriots and Seahawks collide in Arizona. But will the Patriots win the Super Bowl for a fourth time in franchise history or will the Seahawks become one of the very few teams to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy in back-to-back seasons?

Russell Wilson. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)Of course there are a whole host of betting markets for Super Bowl XLIX, and here are the five best bets you can place on Sunday’s highly-anticipated tussle between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks…

Back Seattle Seahawks -1.5 to win @ Evens

Both sides are odds-on for Sunday’s showdown, but if you look to the spread you can give those odds a boost and I suggest backing the Seahawks. Russell Wilson’s interception-filled performance against Green Bay will ensure Seattle turn to Marshawn Lynch for this one, and ‘Beast Mode’ should wear down the New England defense and create openings for himself and his team-mates to put points on the board. On the other side of the ball, this Seattle defense will pressure Tom Brady and we have already seen this cause major problems for the Patriots this season.

While I am not expecting a blow-out like last year, I do expect Seattle to get their hands on the trophy once again.

Back Marshawn Lynch for over 20.5 Total Rushing Attempts @ 10/11

While the Seattle offense spluttered for much of the NFC Championship game, Marshawn Lynch produced a trademark dominant display, carrying the ball 25 times for 157 yards. That game was the first time Lynch had rushed the ball over 20.5 times since the Week 15 win over San Francisco, and I expect the Seahawks to look his way once again after Russell Wilson’s four-pick showing against Green Bay. On the biggest stage the Seahawks will go to their most reliable offensive player and that is ‘Beast Mode’ himself.

LeGarrette Blount. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Back Marshawn Lynch to score a touchdown anytime @ 3/4And of course, you have to fancy Lynch to score a touchdown at some point during the Super Bowl. ‘Beast Mode’ has racked up a team-leading 17 touchdowns this season, with Russell Wilson next up in this statistic with only six. Seattle will look to Lynch and he should rumble over the goalline in Arizona.

 
Back LeGarrette Blount or Marshawn Lynch for the first touchdown @ 10/3

Lynch also plays a part in my first touchdown scorer double for this one. I have already explained why I expect to see him score in this one, but the opportunity to back a couple of men in the first TD market is very appealing and the second man worth selecting is New England running back LeGarrette Blount.

He ran over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game, picking up 148 yards and scoring three touchdowns, and he is a good bet to go in here because the Patriots will be wary of taking shots at this outstanding Seattle secondary.

Back Russell Wilson for under 28.5 pass attempts @ 10/11

Russell Wilson’s showing against Green Bay was absolutely horrible and that game-winning TD pass to Jermaine Kearse should not overshadow that. Pete Carroll will not want to see his quarterback chucking the ball around too much on Sunday, and if they are getting the job done on the ground then Wilson will not need to air it out. Wilson has had under 28.5 pass attempts in 10 of his Seattle’s 18 games this season, and it would be best for Seattle if he came in under that mark once again.

Leigh is, without a doubt, the most over worked writer here at Crunch Sports. A statistician at heart, she can reel off Superbowl plays from decades ago. If we need a deep-dive into the numbers in any sport, we call Leigh first.

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