Super Bowl 2014 Matchup: How Did They Get There?

Every year, we celebrate the most anticipated championship game in all of sports and that is the NFL's Super Bowl match-up between the two champions of their own conferences, the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference. The Super Bowl participants that were voted to play for the Pro Bowl are not able to participate for the said game because they need to prepare for Super Bowl two weeks after they win their conference's championship.

The Peyton Manning-led Denver Broncos managed to win versus Tom Brady-led New England Patriots where as history said, Tom Brady is more likely to win over Peyton Manning whenever they have a matchup. Peyton Manning didn't win it all by himself, Denver Broncos' Defense also handled Tom Brady's offense that was hampered by injuries and inconsistencies on its receiving corps. New England Patriots' Defense didn't help either, injuries from the defensive line and linebackers missed their stars like Vince Wilfork and Jerod Mayo. The New England Secondary led by Aqib Talib handled Peyton Manning early in the game before Wes Welker hit him out of the game and from that point after, breaks the chain of their defense and Denver Broncos' aerial attack took it all the way towards Super Bowl 48.

The National Football Conference's San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks feature the top defenses in the league, smash-mouth rushing the football as well as rushing the passer, and also the new generation of quarterbacks being a dual-threat as a passer and as a runner that becomes a trend lately in the league.

Russell Wilson of Seattle Seahawks is just a sophomore coming to his second post-season appearance mastering the art of play-action pass because you can't go wrong with your play fake if you have a tailback like Marshawn Lynch also known as the Beast Mode and yes you read it right, Marshawn Lynch is always in Beast Mode whenever he carry the football to make a play. The Seattle Seahawks secondary also known as Legion of Boom or LOB featuring play makers like Earl Thomas III and Richard Sherman patrolling the aerial attack of their opponent.

San Francisco's very own Colin Kaepernick signifies that he can be a perennial post-season quarterback coming off to his second trip to NFC Championship game. With him, is a talented supporting cast of defense  consisting of Patrick Willis and Navorro Bowman, the NFL's best linebacker tandem and in offense, they have the most athletic yet versatile tight end in the NFL with Vernon Davis and the most underrated running back at Frank Gore. This squad reached the Super Bowl last year before they got beat by the Baltimore Ravens in 2013 Super Bowl.

San Francisco's experience to the Super Bowl made them a favorite to win over Seattle for the NFC crown but they can't handle a lot of plays made by the Seahawks especially the one that's fresh in our minds, the pass deflection of Richard Sherman to a touchdown pass attempt by Colin Kaepernick to Michael Crabtree late in the game. Seahawks just handled 49ers and earned the bragging rights led by Legion of Boom's Richard Sherman and the rest of the Seahawks' 12th man inside CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington.

In its 48th year of celebrating the Super Bowl fighting for Lombardi Trophy, a trophy given to the winning team, will make Peyton Manning have his second Super Bowl Ring or the Seattle Seahawks will get their very first Lombardi Trophy in only in their second appearance in the Super Bowl. Both teams have their own strengths and weaknesses but the team that makes a lot of positive plays and handles the ball well will be the last team standing for this 2013-2014 NFL Season.

What are your thoughts? Who will be the next champion of this most anticipated event in all of sports? Super Bowl XLVIII kickoff schedule is on Sunday, February 2, 6:30 pm EST (UTC -05:00) in MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey.