We’ve come this far, but we’re not done yet. There are still two games and four teams left to be played before the Super Bowl. These two games, between the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots, definitely pit the two best teams of each conference against each other, making for two extremely interesting matchups. The winners, and Super Bowl representatives from each league, will be decided by answering a few questions for each game. First, which is the better strategy to win the game: “offensive dominance over defensive stoutness” or “a strong defense is the best offense”? Second, how important is special teams to the teams’ gameplans? Lastly, how do you like your ice cream? All of these questions and more will be answered in the following blocks of text.

Offense or Defense?

The NFC Championship Game definitely hinges on this question. The Green Bay Packers boast the NFC’s top offense, while the Seattle Seahawks roll on with their top-ranked defense. The real matchup to watch in this game will not be Aaron Rodgers vs. Russell Wilson; rather, it will be Rodgers vs. the Seattle defensive unit or, in a lesser case, Wilson vs. what Green Bay flatteringly calls a “defense.” It’s easy to think that Wilson and Marshawn Lynch will put up huge numbers on the ground against the dreadful front four of the Packers. This is because they will; Lynch is going to have a huge game, and Wilson will definitely get his share. What remains to be determined is how Rodgers and the Green Bay offense will fare against the stifling Seattle secondary and their attacking linebacking corps. If the Packers can establish a running game early in the game and take out the Twelfth Man, it would make it almost impossible for Rodgers to not take advantage of the holes that will appear deeper in the field. The Seahawks will have to bring in players like Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright to defend against the run, giving the Packers their choice of receivers to hit on crossing routes. So, no matter what, Green Bay has to run early, run often, and, most importantly, they can’t abandon their game plan if they aren’t running for five or six yards per carry like they were against the Cowboys.

While the AFC Championship game has a little bit of a different dynamic, the two teams playing in this game are the best of their conference right now. The Indianapolis Colts are playing their best football since they had Peyton Manning at the helm, and they are coming off of a huge win against Number 18 himself. The New England Patriots, on the other hand, have been the dominant team in the AFC for a decade-and-a-half, and the secondary that they have right now is their best since their Super Bowl Championship-winning secondaries of the early 2000’s led by Rodney Harrison and Ty Law. In this game, the superior defense is clearly that of the Patriots. If you don’t believe me, name five starters on Indianapolis’ defense. Can you? I didn’t think so. I digress, the Patriots defense is the second-best of the four remaining teams, eclipsed only by the unanimous rulers of the defensive side of the football in the Seahawks. This is not to say that the Patriots’ offense is inferior to the Colts’. To say this would be like saying Steve Young was a better quarterback than Joe Montana because he is younger and threw for more touchdowns in a single Super Bowl. It’s absolutely preposterous. The tandem of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick is clearly the greatest to ever grace a football field, as demonstrated by their NFL-record 161 total wins together and their 20 playoff wins, also a record. This superiority on both sides of the football by the Patriots takes a lot of drama out of this game, but it also takes a lot of the guesswork out of the pick. I think we both know who the winner of this game will be.

Special Teams Importance?

The second point of emphasis for the NFC Championship is the special teams importance of these teams. The Seahawks put an enormous amount of emphasis on their special teams unit, and it really shows. Kicker Steven Hauschka has improved tremendously in his seven years in the league, becoming a premier part of a special teams unit that is one of the best in the NFL. The Seahawks can also send anyone back to return kicks and punts, and they’re all explosive returnmen. From Richard Sherman to Paul Richardson to Bryan Walters, the Seattle roster is full of key utility players that can do anything on the football field. The Packers, on the other hand, are too busy gameplanning for the ferocious defense that they will have to face on Sunday to deal with their special teams too much. This gives the Seahawks a clear and decisive advantage on the special teams front, which, while it may not be the most sizable advantage, definitely adds to the mounting pressure against the Packers in this game.

Now, as previously stated, special teams units do not give a team too much of an advantage, but familiarity does. The Patriots are quite familiar with Adam Vinatieri of the Colts, the kicker who knocked through game-winner after game-winner for the Patriots between 1996 and 2005, including two game-winning field goals in Super Bowls. This is all done without the mention that Vinatieri held the all-time scoring lead for the Patriots with 1,158 points until his mark was eclipsed by current Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski in December. Now, I should mention that I’m not entirely sure what kind of advantage knowing a kicker’s tendencies are gives a team, but there has to be something. If anything, it shows how even these two teams are as far as kickers are concerned. The only advantage here is that Gostkowski is 12 years younger than Vinatieri, giving the Patriots an advantage, however minute, on the offensive, defensive, and special teams fronts.

Ice Cream Preferences?

Last, but most certainly not least, is the ever-recurring “Question that makes you go ‘Hmm’” that I will tie together to the main idea of this story with weak facts and a loosely-constructed argument. These things aside, your ice cream preferences will tell a lot about you and the teams you are rooting for this weekend. Are you experimental? Do you like trying different flavors and toppings? If you answered yes to either of these questions, the Seattle Seahawks are your team in the NFC Championship game. They’re the new-aged, run-and-gun offense trying to prove themselves amidst a National Football League dominated by traditional passing offenses. The Seahawks will pound you into the ground with their powerful rushing attack, then, just when you think you have them figured out, Russell Wilson will fake a handoff to Marshawn Lynch and throw a bomb to a wide open Jermaine Kearse or Doug Baldwin. Are you more of a vanilla person? Do you tend to stick with what you know? Welcome to the Green Bay Packers football team. Everyone knows how the Packers win games; they try to establish their running game early, then Aaron Rodgers spreads the ball around to a variety of receivers to destroy the defensive sense of security, and they have a defensive unit that can do just enough to keep the opposing offense from doing anything too drastic. Even though everyone knows this, the Packers are almost impossible to stop. It will take a defense that is not shaken by a few completions strung together and a creative offense that can attack the Green Bay defense on any front, but that is exactly what the Seahawks have. My preseason Super Bowl pick from the NFC was Green Bay, but I have just talked myself out of the Packers’ bandwagon. The Seahawks will win this football game with their incredibly explosive offense and phenomenal defense, not to mention their X-factor, the loud and rowdy Twelfth Man.

As far as the AFC Championship is concerned, neither of these teams can be considered a bland, vanilla team or an exciting, sprinkles team, but that does not eliminate the tendencies of these teams. The Colts are clearly the younger team, but they are the more vanilla-like team in this matchup. Indianapolis has proven time and time again that they have absolutely not running game to balance their offense, especially since Trent Richardson has declined to make the trip to Foxborough with the rest of his team for undisclosed personal reasons. This makes their offense entirely one-dimensional towards Andrew Luck’s right arm, making the job for the New England defense that much easier. The veteran, grandfather-styled New England Patriots are actually the more exciting team, especially when they throw out offensive formations with only four offensive lineman or hook and ladder double-passes that involve players like former Kent State quarterback Julian Edelman throwing the football 51 yards to fellow wide receiver Danny Amendola. It is the willingness of an old-fashioned coach like Bill Belichick or Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels to delve deep into the recesses of the New England playbook to defeat whomever the opponent may be on any given Sunday. This is just another Sunday to Belichick and his Patriots, and they will easily defend their turf against the inexperience and less-talented Indianapolis Colts. Whether it be Tom Brady exploiting the imminent mismatches with Rob Gronkowski down the field or LeGarrette Blount pounding the football up the middle against the weak Indianapolis defensive line, the Colts are completely outmatched in this game. Indianapolis simply cannot compete with the Patriots this year. They have a solid corps of young players on their offense, and they will definitely have plenty of opportunities in these situations in the future. This year, though, belongs to the New England Patriots, giving them their sixth Super Bowl appearance in the Brady-Belichick Era and the eventual fourth Super Bowl victory.