It's a Super Bowl rematch. Four years after the Giants stunned the previously undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl XLII; the two are at it again in Indianapolis in Super Bowl XLVI in two weeks.
The Patriots knocked off the Ravens, 23-20, to advance to their fifth Super Bowl in the last 11 years and the Giants went on the road and to beat the 49ers, 20-17, in overtime to set up the rematch.
The Patriots, who lost to the Giants 24-20 in Week 9, open as three-point favorites. They have won 10 straight since that loss in early November.
"We know they're a great team," Giants quarterback Eli Manning told the Associated Press after the NFC Championship Game. “We played them already this year. They've been playing great football recently. Celebrate tonight, have fun, then start getting prepared and go to Indy and play our best football."
The Giants had to scratch and claw just to get into the playoffs after falling to 7-7 with an embarrassing loss to theRedskins in Week 15. The Giants had to knock off the Jets and the Cowboys in the final two weeks of the season just to get an invite into the playoffs.
The Patriots went the more conventional route, earning the AFC’s top seed and home field advantage through the playoffs.
The Patriots were a 12-point favorite in 2008 as they tried to cap a 19-0 season. However, the Giants harassed Patriots quarterback Tom Brady all night and Manning hit receiver Plaxico Burress for a touchdown in the last minute to complete the upset and help the Giants win their third Super Bowl.
The Patriots last won the Super Bowl in 2005.
The Patriots employed the league’s second-to-last ranked defense during the regular season, relying on Brady and the offense for most of the season. Brady threw for a career-high 5,235 yards and had 39 touchdown passes.
Manning threw an NFL-record 15 touchdown passes in the fourth quarter during the regular season and carried the Giants the entire year. He was voted to the Pro Bowl, but now will have a few other things on his mind that weekend.
Two of the most popular teams in the NFL, featuring two of the game’s elite quarterbacks, in an epic rematch has the potential to be one of the best Super Bowl’s yet.
