Had today’s National Football League Championship games been played in Philadelphia or New England they would have battled severe winter weather conditions. Where the games are played, Denver and Seattle, the weather is relatively mild. It will be cold in Denver, when the Broncos host the New England Patriots in today’s early game, around 20 degrees at kickoff. Snow may fall in the second half, but no conditions that should impair the play on the field.
Mild weather in Seattle too, where the Seahawks host the Los Angeles Rams. Good playing conditions with game-time temperatures around 40 degrees and more than likely no precipitation.
The late game today, set to kickoff at 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time, is promoted as a battle between two veteran quarterbacks: Matthew Stafford of the Rams and Seattle’s Sam Darnold. More accurately stated, it is a battle between Stafford against the Seahawks defense and Darnold versus the Rams stop unit.
When put in those terms, the Seahawks pick up a significant edge.
While Darnold became only the second player in NFL history to win 28 regular season games in consecutive seasons, he won 14 last year with the Minnesota Vikings and this season with Seattle, he has benefited in both campaigns with solid defensive play on his side. For the record, the other quarterback to win 28 games in back-to-back seasons was Tom Brady who did it in 2003 and 2004.
The Seahawks defense, which guided Seattle to a pair of Super Bowls to complete the 2013 and 2014 seasons, was known as the “Legion of Boom.” This year’s stop unit has also picked up a name, “The Dark Side.” The name was coined by Seattle defenders Leonard Williams and DeMarcus Lawrence, and they explain it by saying their defense prowess is “cutting the lights off” of opposing offenses.