PHOENIX — Super Bowl XLIX matches the top two teams in the 2014 regular season, the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots.

The matchups within the game set the stage for an intriguing chess match.

“Seattle presents more big-play ability,” said Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews, who played both teams this season. “When Russell (Wilson) gets out of the pocket, it presents a lot of problems. New England is more of a traditional offense.

“You cannot make mistakes, or (Tom Brady) will pick you apart. He’s very accurate.”

Known as effective and elusive scrambling to throw, Wilson had a 95.9 passer rating from the pocket. He also led the NFL in third-down rushing yards.

Patriots inside linebackers Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins were used to “spy” Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts. They are more accurate than Wilson on timing throws but equally dangerous when they have to move to find open receivers.

“There are a lot of things he can do to hurt you,” Collins said of Wilson, who said most times he’s looking to hand off to Lynch rather than keep it himself.

When Lynch gets rolling, the passing game tends to click. Seattle’s receivers are not recognized as No. 1-type talents. Doug Baldwin, who will play in the slot a lot, could draw All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis in man coverage.

“You know what? I am going to bring my sunblock, my shades and my hat and I am going to go to Revis island and see what I can do and I will let you know after the game,” said Baldwin, who has a team-high nine catches for 144 yards in the playoffs.

Lynch had 771 rushing yards after contact and the Seahawks zone-read is proven effective getting Lynch to the second level and beyond, where the Patriots’ secondary will be forced to step in front of the freight train.

Overall in the regular season, he rushed for 1,308 yards and averaged 4.7 yards per carry with 13 touchdowns. He has 39 carries for 216 yards (5.5 yards per carry) in the playoffs. Matthews said the key to slowing down Lynch is getting all 11 players to the ball.

“He’s an all-around great back. He’s got great feet, great balance (and) great vision,” Hightower said. “I feel like he does a great job of keeping his legs moving all the time. … I’ve seen another side of him to where he’s not necessarily looking to run guys over, but he’s looking to take that 10-yard play and break it to a 50- or 60-yard play.”

The Patriots, who are 26-1 under coach Bill Belichick when the team has a 100-yard rusher, have a bruising back with underrated quickness and power of their own in LeGarrette Blount. He was third in the NFL in yards after contact this season. If Blount or Jonas Gray and third-down back Shane Vereen can find creases to get the Patriots in third-and-2 or third-and-3 rather, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels likes his team’s ability to sustain long drives — which doesn’t happen often against Seattle’s No. 1-ranked defense.

“I don’t think you can do the same thing all game,” McDaniels said. “This is a team that their coaching staff does a great job of adjusting and trying to take away things that you do well early in the game. We’re going to have to try to maintain our balance. We going to have to try to continue to poke and prod, take positive plays when we can.”

Seattle gave up only five touchdown passes to wide receivers in the regular season, but 11 to tight ends. From stacked and trips formations of four or three grouped receivers, the Seahawks are not able to jam every Patriots player off the line.

Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn said the biggest concern defensively is All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski. During preparation, Quinn likened the Patriots’ offense to division rival San Francisco because of the ability to run the ball or build a scheme around the tight end (Vernon Davis). At 6-foot-7, Quinn said the Seahawks have not seen another player with Gronkowski’s “catch radius.” He’s always a half step from being wide open because of his stride, and there’s only one way to combat him.

“Length,” said Quinn, noting the Seahawks average height in the secondary is the best in the NFL. “I think at the end of it — just great hands to finish on routes. So when he’s up in the air, generally he’s strong handed to come down with it.”

Four of the Patriots’ previous five Super Bowls were decided by four or fewer points. In their two most recent Super Bowl losses, Brady faced significant pressure and had defenders in his face frequently.

The Seahawks’ pass rush thrived in last year’s Super Bowl, notably by lining up defensive ends Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett both outside the right tackle. Bennett said Brady gets the ball out so fast, that pass rush success won’t necessarily be measured in sacks.

“The Giants proved that if you have a great pass rush, it makes the game a lot easier for your defense. Obviously, we want to mimic that,” Avril said, noting Peyton Manning’s quick trigger was a hot topic last year. “Those are two Hall of Fame quarterbacks, so obviously it does have a little bit of weight behind it. It would be up to you guys to let us know how legendary that would be.”