Doc Brown’s Super Bowl pick: Seahawks 20 Broncos 17

We’re approaching the big game on Sunday between the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos, so you know that Doc Brown had to get his Super Bowl XLVIII pick in. And who is Doc Brown rolling with? As you can see in the title, the Seahawks.

One big reason people are picking the Broncos has to do with the Peyton Manning storyline. Manning is 37 and possibly thinking of retiring after the game. Wouldn’t it be the perfect ending for him to get a second ring before he’s gone? By winning he’d be proving to everyone that he can get it done in the big games and that he’s not a choker. We know that’s a popular theme and really do think it would be nice if Peyton got a ring, but just because Manning needs one more to make his career resume look better, or because it would be a great way to go out, doesn’t mean the Seahawks are just going to comply and lay down here. They’re going to be playing equally as hard and trying to win the game. And Doc thinks they will.

The Seahawks have the best defense in the league and a defensive backfield that can hang with the Broncos’ passing game. While Denver has a great passing game, they have not been untouchable this season. Their offense wasn’t great in any of their games against the San Diego Chargers this season, and they weren’t great against the New England Patriots. Who knows how the Pats’ defense would have fared against them in the playoffs had top corner Aqib Talib not gone down in the second quarter with an injury? Losing him pretty much ended their chances of stopping Denver’s offense because it gave them nobody to match up with Demaryius Thomas. And against San Diego, the Broncos were held to under 400 yards and 30 points each time while going 2-1.

Seattle’s defense is seriously good. They can rotate 5-6 defensive lineman who can stop the run and get after the quarterback. They have the best secondary in the league, highlighted by shutdown corner Richard Sherman and safeties Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor. Those guys seem to always make the big play when they need to, as evidenced by their league-best 39 turnovers. They have the resources most teams lack to limit Denver’s passing game. For as good as Denver’s passing game is, that’s how good Seattle’s pass defense is. They’ve allowed a league-best 172 yards per game and just 16 passing touchdowns, which is second in the league.

And just because the main talking point for Seattle is their defense doesn’t mean their offense is bad.

They still scored the 9th-most points in the league. Though their passing yardage stats won’t blow you away, they threw for 27 touchdowns, which was 10th-best in the league. They can also run the ball, control the clock, and sustain long drives that can keep Manning off the field. They have all the ingredients to win the game and Doc thinks they will.

But one thing Doc thinks Seattle will do is throw the ball early. Won’t people expect them to try running the ball because that’s their strength? That’s exactly why they’ll do the opposite.

This will be a low-scoring game that will be close throughout with the Seahawks winning 20-17. You know how confident the Doc is in Seattle? He wouldn’t be surprised if they got a special teams touchdown, defensive touchdown, and just ran away with the game in a blowout the way they’ve tended to during the season. This is Seattle’s year.