STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The New England Patriots are trying to win their first Super Bowl.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Wait, what?
INSKEEP: Oh. I mean, trying to win their first Super Bowl in a long time without Tom Brady. And the Seattle Seahawks are looking for redemption from the last time they faced the Patriots in the Super Bowl - didn't go very well. Sports journalist Kevin Blackistone is helping us get ready for Sunday. Welcome back.
KEVIN BLACKISTONE: Thanks much.
INSKEEP: OK. So I'm thinking about this. I saw a little bit of the playoffs. The Patriots seem to be a pretty high-scoring team, powerful offense, even without Tom Brady.
BLACKISTONE: And you could say the same about their opponent. These teams are so evenly matched, it's ridiculous. You know, not only basically their records, but you talk about offense - they both score about 28 points a game. Defense - they both give up about 18, 17 points a game. They are very much alike - even their quarterbacks, since you mentioned them. Drake Maye, a...
INSKEEP: Yeah.
BLACKISTONE: ...Second-year quarterback for the Patriots, and the journeyman Sam Darnold with Seattle - both about the same size, one from the East Coast, one from the West Coast, and both were drafted third overall in the drafts in which they were ushered into the NFL. So very similar teams, and neither playing with Tom Brady.
INSKEEP: How about on the defensive side?
BLACKISTONE: The very same thing. They play a little bit different styles, say people who watch them and grade them. New England has turned into sort of a blitzing team. But Seattle, if you remember, back when they were a playoff winner and a playoff contender, they had a defense nicknamed the Legion of Boom, led by Richard Sherman. Well, now they've come back with another defense that is ranked number one in the league, and it too has a nickname. It's called the Dark Side.
(LAUGHTER)
INSKEEP: OK. Go on. Go on.
BLACKISTONE: And they are a unit to be reckoned with.
INSKEEP: What do you think is going to tip the balance here, then?
BLACKISTONE: You know, I think - there are three units to football, right? There's offense, there's defense and there's special teams. And in November, Seattle went out and picked up Rashid Shaheed, who was a backup wide receiver but widely regarded for his ability to return kicks. And he was here, and in an instant, he brought back one kickoff 100 yards. Then he returned a punt for a touchdown. And then to open up the divisional playoffs, he took back a kickoff for 95 yards. So I think he's going to be - if there's an X factor, as people like to talk about in sports, I think he's the X factor that tips the scale in Seattle's favor.
INSKEEP: Kevin, I want people to know if they don't - you wrote for many years for The Washington Post, which this week eliminated its sports section, in addition to widespread cuts throughout the company at this important newspaper. What do you make of that?
BLACKISTONE: You know, it's obviously very sad. It's a blow to journalism not only here in Washington, D.C., where I grew up and started as a Washington Post delivery boy, but across the country and throughout the nation. And normally, this time, there would be a team of Washington Post reporters doing the Super Bowl, and you don't have them. And it's just a real hole for the city, for the country and for me.
INSKEEP: Kevin Blackistone, still delivering the news. Thanks so much.
BLACKISTONE: Thanks, Steve. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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