The Seattle Seahawks' chance of appearing for a third consecutive time this season is high according to Arizona Cardinals safety player Tyrann Mathieu.

The 23-year-old NFL player admitted on "The Rich Eisen Show" that the leader in the National Football Conference (NFC) is still the Hawks, NFL.com reported.

"I've never been a fan of disrespecting the people who have earned it, so for me it would have to be Seattle. Those guys went to the Super Bowl two times in a row and they have everything we want... So we'll have to go through Seattle again this year," said the Lousiana native.

Mathieu's statement was contrary to what his teammate Calais Campbell just said on "NFL Total Access" that they are the team to beat.

"With him [Carson Palmer] under center, we know we're a contender - a true contender," Campbell said, as quoted in another article of NFL.com.

Seahawks for Super Bowl 50?

It appears, based on predictions, that the Seahawks may not just be appearing in the Super Bowl 50 - they might even be declared the champions. It may be too early to assume but If Tom Brady's appeal won't be lifted, the New England Patriots' chance of successfully defending the title might be lower, Seattle PI reported, citing data from Bovada oddsmakers.

The Seahawks, the team that the defending champions Patriots faced last season, are tipped to win the Vince Lombardi trophy next season. The Seahawks have 11-2 odds to win the title compared to the 7-2 odds of the Patriots and the Colts. The outlet noted that there's a great probability for the Hawks to beat the Arizona Cardinals, St. Louis Rams and San Francisco 49ers. The teams who may face each other were said to be Seattle and the highly-probable AFC champions, the Indianapolis Colts.

The Hawks' edge

Seahawks star cornerback Richard Sherman explained during a press conference in June why their team's defense is the best among all teams, as he fired back at his New York Jets' counterpart, Antonio Cromartie, who criticized him for not following "the best guy on every single team."

"How many guys have you seen switching from side to side on a No. 1 defense? We're the No. 1 defense for a reason. You'd think guys like that wouldn't, who coaches a No. 1 defense to be worse? If we're No. 1, it must be working. It's an effective strategy for us and obviously we're playing at a high level," Sherman said.

True enough, the Seahawks is the current best defensive team, according to ESPN. Seattle posted a net total yards of 4,274, averaging 267.1 net yards per game. The Seahawks is the only team with a record of less than 200 passing yards per game and below 300 net yards per game in its 2014 defense stats.

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