Everyone loves to cheer for a David against Goliath, but those fans will have no such luck on Sunday, February 1 when Goliaths match up in Super Bowl XLIX.

The reigning champion Seattle Seahawks won last year by dismantling the record-setting Denver Broncos, 43-8. This year, the team is just as good, if not better, and they became the first team in 13 years to go to back-to-back Super Bowls. The last team to achieve that… the very New England Patriots they will be squaring off against. It will be a matchup of a budding dynasty against a fading dynasty, but with the Patriots’ 12-4 regular-season record, it is hard to say they are fading too fast this season.

The matchup that all eyes will be on throughout the game is one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game, Patriots QB Tom Brady, going up against the best defense in the NFL, boasting arguably the best cornerback, Richard Sherman. Most of the quarterbacks to face Seattle this year have totally avoided Sherman’s side of the field (he strictly plays the right side of the field), and it is fair to figure that Brady will act similarly.

The Patriots have tight end Rob Gronkowski, who is 6’6’’ and 265 pounds, but also has speed and good hands, and is the biggest mismatch in football for defenses to guard. Figure Gronk to be a huge part of the Patriots’ game plan, along with receivers Julian Edelman on the outside and Danny Amendola, who has finally emerged healthy in this year’s playoffs.

Running back for the Patriots LeGarrette Blount just scored three touchdowns in the AFC Championship game against the Colts, but expect it to be a different story for him this Sunday. The Seahawks were the third-best defense in the NFL this year against the run, and bruising backs like Blount were the exact type that this defense swallowed up.

On the other side of the ball, the matchup will be between uber run-heavy Seahawks’ offense and their 27th-ranked passing game against the Patriots’ fairly average defense. They were middle of the pack against the pass, but top 10 against the run, so they might be better equipped for this nightmare of a matchup with the Seahawks’ favored run game. The good news for the Pats is that because the Seahawks are mostly one-dimensional on offense, if they can shut down the league’s leader in rushing TDs, Marshawn Lynch, then they have a very good chance to shut down the entire Seahawks’ offense.

Overall, it should be a very exciting game to watch. For the first time since the 2009-2010 season, the top seeds from both conferences will face off, and as long as the Patriots keep all of their devious locker room attendants in check, it should live up to the hype.