It's 2008 all over again! It's the New England Patriots taking on the New York Giants. Last time these two teams met with the Super Bowl on the line the Giants walked away with a 17-14 victory. The Patriots that year were one win away from the perfect season, but the Giants ended that with the win in the Super Bowl. It was do in large part to this spectacular catch from David Tyree:
(Just thought I would refresh everybody's memory)
So now that we know what we are dealing with today in the Superbowl, lets get a quick look at how we got here.
With a 9–7 record during the regular season, the Giants returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2008, when they won the NFC East and finished the season as the NFC's #4 seed. The Giants entered their week 17 match up with the Cowboys with both teams tied for the division lead with 8–7 records. The Giants took a 21–0 first half lead and while the Cowboys closed the gap to make the score 21–14 early in the 4th quarter, the Giants held on to defeat the Cowboys 31–14, clinching the divisional title and a playoff berth. Then they advanced to the playoffs by defeating the Atlanta Falcons in the Wild Card game 24–2, then they defeated the teams with the two best records in the NFL, knocking off the 15–1 Green Bay Packers 37–20 and the 13–3 San Francisco 49ers 20–17 on Lawrence Tynes's game winning field goal in overtime.
New York's offense was led by Pro Bowl quarterback Eli Manning, in his seventh season as the team's starter. Manning set new career highs in nearly every statistical category in 2011, throwing for a franchise record 4,933 yards and 29 touchdowns, with 16 interceptions, giving him a 92.9 passer rating. His top target was receiver Victor Cruz, who caught 82 passes for a franchise record 1,536 yards (3rd in the NFL) and 9 touchdowns. But he had plenty of other targets, including Hakeem Nicks (76 receptions, 1,192 yards, 7 touchdowns), Mario Manningham (39 receptions and 523 yards in 12 games) and tight end Jake Ballard (38 receptions, 604 yards, 15.9 average)
Running back Ahmad Bradshaw was the team's leading rusher with 659 yards and 9 touchdowns. He was also a reliable weapon in the passing game, hauling in 34 receptions for 267 yards and two touchdowns. Brandon Jacobs also made a big contribution on the ground, rushing for 571 yards and 7 touchdowns.
New York's defensive line was led by defensive ends Jason Pierre-Paul and Osi Umenyiora. Pierre-Paul racked up 86 combined tackles and ranked fourth in the NFL with 16.5 sacks, earning him the only Pro Bowl selection on the Giants defense, while Umenyiora recorded 9 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. New York also had an excellent secondary led by Corey Webster, who intercepted a career high 6 passes. Defensive backs Kenny Phillips and Aaron Ross added four interceptions each, while safety Antrel Rolle picked off two passes and led the team in combined tackles with 96.
The 2011 Giants are the first team in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl after having been outscored by their opponents in the regular season (394 points scored, 400 points allowed).
That covers the Giants trek. As for New England, the Patriots finished with a 13–3 record, winning the AFC East and clinching the AFC's #1 seed in the playoffs. New England lost two straight games in weeks 8 and 9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Giants, respectively, before rallying to win their remaining regular season games. In the playoffs, New England defeated the Denver Broncos in the divisional round and the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game.
Back at the helm of the offense was 12-year quarterback Tom Brady, who earned his 7th Pro Bowl selection. Starting every game of the season, Brady completed 65.6% of his passes for a career-high 5,246 yards (the second highest total in NFL history) and 39 touchdown passes, with just 12 interceptions and a rating of 105.6. Brady also added 109 yards and three scores on the ground. His main weapon in the passing game was Pro Bowl receiver Wes Welker, who led the NFL with 122 receptions (22 receptions ahead of second place) for 1,569 yards and 9 touchdowns. New England also had two of the best tight ends in the NFL: Pro Bowler Rob Gronkowski, who set new tight end records for receiving (1,327 yards) and touchdown catches (17); and Aaron Hernandez, who caught 79 passes for 910 yards and 7 touchdowns, while also rushing for 45 yards. Another big element of the passing game was veteran receiver Deion Branch, who caught 51 passes for 702 yards and 5 scores. Receivers Chad Ochocinco, Tiquan Underwood, Julian Edelman, and Matthew Slater made minor contributions to the passing attack; the latter two also served as emergency defensive backs.
New England had several key contributors in the ground game. Their main rusher was BenJarvis Green-Ellis, who rushed for 667 yards and 11 touchdowns. Running back Stevan Ridley added 447 yards and a 5.1 yards per carry average. Danny Woodhead contributed 351 yards with a 4.6 YPC average, and gained another 437 yards returning kickoffs. New England also had a solid offensive line, which was anchored by Pro Bowl guards Logan Mankins and Brian Waters. With all these weapons, New England ranked third in the NFL with 513 points.
The Patriots' defensive line featured two Pro Bowl selections: Vince Wilfork, who generated 3.5 sacks, two interceptions, and one forced fumble; and Andre Carter, who contributed 10 sacks and forced two fumbles. Defensive End Mark Anderson was also a major force on the line, earning 10 sacks and two forced fumbles of his own. Behind them, Rob Ninkovich excelled at linebacker, gaining 74 tackles, 6.5 sacks, and two interceptions. In the secondary, cornerback Kyle Arrington had a breakout season. After recording just one interception in his first three years, Arrington picked off 7 passes in 2011 to lead the NFL in that category, while also leading the team in tackles with 88.
And just for fun here are some other miscellaneous info and stats about the big game. The Giants joined the 2008 Arizona Cardinals and 1979 Los Angeles Rams as the only other team to advance to the Super Bowl with fewer than ten victories since the NFL expanded to a 16-game season in 1978, and have won six consecutive playoff games away from their home stadium, dating back to their victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2007 Wild Card round. That includes their Super Bowl XLII victory over these same Patriots, although that game was played at a neutral site (and the Giants were the designated "away" team for the game). The Giants will again be the designated "away" team for Super Bowl XLVI.
The Patriots return to the Super Bowl for the fifth time under head coach Bill Belichick after Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX and XLII. It is their seventh appearance overall and the Giants' fifth, with both teams having three victories. The Patriots lost Super Bowls XX (to the Bears), XXXI (to the Packers), and XLII (to the Giants), while the Giants' lone loss in Super Bowl play came in Super Bowl XXXV (against the Ravens). If the Patriots lose the Super Bowl, they would be the first team to lose at least one Super Bowl in four decades (1985, 1996, 2007). As a result of that, it would make the New York Giants the first teams to win a Super Bowl in 4 decades (1986, 1990, 2007)
With the victory in the 2011 AFC Championship Game Tom Brady and Belichick became the first quarterback-head coach combination to reach the Super Bowl more than four times, beating the record held by Terry Bradshaw and Chuck Noll of the Pittsburgh Steelers' 1970s Super Bowl teams. Belichick tied Tom Landry for second most appearances as a head coach in the Super Bowl, behind only Don Shula's six.
This is the fifth matchup of head coaches who have previously won Super Bowls: Tom Landry and Chuck Noll twice in Super Bowls X and XIII, Tom Flores and Joe Gibbs in Super Bowl XVIII and Bill Walsh and Don Shula in Super Bowl XIX.
The Giants join the Steelers and the Denver Broncos as the only teams to advance to at least one Super Bowl televised on all four major broadcast television networks. The Giants' appearances in Super Bowls XXI and XXXV, and winning XXI were televised by CBS, their victory in Super Bowl XXV was carried by ABC, and their most recent appearance aired on Fox. A Giants victory will make them the first team to win at least one Super Bowl televised on all four major broadcast television networks.
Because the Giants and Patriots draw their fanbases from New York City and Boston respectively, the Super Bowl is expected to echo the fierce rivalry between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball.[11]
The Patriots' most recent Super Bowl victory has been followed by a championship from each of Boston's other major professional sports league franchises with the Red Sox winning the 2007 World Series, the Celtics winning the 2008 NBA Finals and the Bruins winning the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals. The Bruins' championship completed the fastest ever succession of all four major professional sports championships won by teams in a single metropolitan area, with the Bruins winning the Stanley Cup six years, four months and nine days after Super Bowl XXXIX. A Patriots victory in Super Bowl XLVI would result in an even shorter time-span encompassing all four major championships - four years, three months and eight days being the time between the end of the 2007 World Series and Super Bowl XLVI.
The Patriots and Giants faced each other in New England during the regular season; the Giants won that game, 24–20. Incidentally, the Giants and Patriots had also faced each other during the regular season prior to Super Bowl XLII with the Patriots winning this game and the Giants going on to win that Super Bowl. Super Bowl XLVI marks the 13th Super Bowl that is a rematch of a regular season game. The loser in the regular season is 7–5 in these games, including 5–1 the last six times this has happened. The Giants were one of only three teams to beat New England in 2011; the other two were the Buffalo Bills (who the Patriots would beat in a later rematch, and whom the Giants also defeated) and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Lucas Oil Stadium is the home of the Indianapolis Colts, which shares connections to both the Giants and Patriots. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is the older brother of the Giants' Eli Manning, while the Colts and Patriots share an intense rivalry.
So now that we have information overload about today's game let's get down to business and make a few perdictions. Everybody knows New England has a high powered offense, but the Pats D was one of the worst in the NFL. The Giants were able to knock off both the Packers and 49ers, both of whom have good solid D's. This is basically gonna be a smack em in the mouth slugfest for the Lombardi Trophy. For the Pats to be successful they have to get pressure and Eli Manning and have Brady play like Brady. For the Giants, they need to throw the ball, A LOT, since the Pats secondary can't stop a cold in a rain storm. I'll take the Giants by a field goal to win their 2nd superbowl in the 21st century.
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