The Patriots and Seahawks Clash in Xbox One’s Game Before the Game

As the official console sponsor of the NFL, Xbox One has been giving football fans what they’ve wanted throughout the season. From following the latest roster news in the preseason and tracking your fantasy team’s stats in real-time to keeping up with daily news and enjoying interactive voting, the Xbox One is a great place for football fans to worship at the pigskin shrine. With the eyes of the football world focused squarely on Arizona’s Valley of the Sun for Sunday’s Super Bowl XLIX, this week was the perfect time to kick off the Super Bowl edition of Xbox One’s Game Before the Game.

While the Patriots and Seahawks will have to wait until Sunday to find out who will be crowned Champion, Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman and New England running back Shane Vereen battled it out Tuesday on the field in Madden NFL 15.

Fans packed the Microsoft booth at the NFL Experience in Phoenix to cheer on Sherman and Vereen, while singer and NFL fanatic Jordin Sparks served as host and sideline reporter, giving fans color commentary and play-by-plays throughout the match up.

Vereen’s Patriots came out of the gate strong, moving the ball 68 yards down the field on their opening driving and capping it off with a touchdown pass over Sherman to Julian Edelman on 3rd and 10.

The Patriots widened the gap early in the second by going for it on 4th and inches with a touchdown pass to James Develin. With the ball back in their possession and Richard Sherman manning the controller, the Seahawks looked to respond, but Wilson’s deep pass was picked off by Darrelle Revis.

At halftime, Vereen was confident, but gave the Seahawks credit on their ability to rally.

“I’m not comfortable, not yet. They came back from 16 last week, we need more points. You never know – this is the Super Bowl!”

After the half, Marshawn Lynch powered Seattle’s offense down the field into the red zone, but the Patriots held strong and the Seahawks were unable to convert on 4th and 7. Despite a goal line stand by Seattle in the 4th and a sack on Brady, the Seahawks ultimately came up short, with a final score of 14 – 0.

In response to the shut-out, Sherman commented that he hoped the score would be a lot different when the dust settles at Super Bowl XLIX.

“There were a lot of missed opportunities in this game and a lot of dropped passes and we’ve got to do better than that (on Sunday).”