Super Bowl XLVI: The Rematch

Image courtesy of newenglandpatriots.com

Brady vs. Manning has been the rivalry of the decade in the NFL. Since the Pats loss to the Colts in the 2007 AFC Championship Game, it seems that the rivalry transferred to the younger brother. It was Brady vs. Manning in the Super Bowl again the next season, and Eli outdueled one of the greatest quarterbacks of our generation to win Super Bowl 42. The Patriots chance at perfection ended when Manning hit Plaxico Burress in the endzone with less than a minute to play. To this day, Tom Brady has never watched a highlight or replay from that heartbreaking loss.

The Patriots aren't used to being treated like underdogs in the big game. The last time they were, it was in 2002 when they faced The Greatest Show on Turf in Kurt Warner and the St. Louis Rams. Now, they aren't the underdog per se--they're 2.5 point favorites--but the way people are talking about this game you would think the Giants are the best team in the NFL...

Well, if they win this game, they might be, but that's not the point.

This game has been compared to the 2008 Super Bowl mainly because of the same matchup, but this game will end up being much different than that one. The Patriots secondary was phenomenal during their 16-0 season... this year, not so much. Devin McCourty and Lee Bodden are not Asante Samuel and Ellis Hobbs. Patrick Chung and Sergio Brown are not names that make their opponents cringe with fear.

This is the Giants' biggest advantage and if they hope to win, they'll have to do it throwing the football... especially because the Giants' receiving core is much better than in 2008. With Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz, along with Mario Manningham in the slot, it could be the most dangerous in the NFL. The Patriots need to contain them somehow and hope that their defensive line puts a lot of pressure on Eli Manning.

Tom Brady's statline in the AFC Championship Game is one he probably blocked out of his mind coming into tonight. He said it himself: "[He] sucked pretty bad". Eli, on the other hand, played pretty well at San Francisco, but he will definitely have to play better to beat the Patriots.

The one intangible people need to realize is that Tom Brady and Coach Bill Belichick do not take losses lightly. Ever. They lost to the Giants earlier this year 24-20. When's the last time they lost two in the row to the same team in the same year? You'd have to go back a long time. It hasn't happened in the past five years. That's because, once they lose, they try 100x harder to make sure they won't make the same mistakes again.

How does the saying go? "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Brady and Belichick will not let their team be beaten twice in the row by the Giants. Especially after the heartbreaker in 2008 that is surely in the back of their minds coming into this game.

The biggest question mark coming into this game is Tom Brady's favorite target, Tight End Rob Gronkowski, who has a high ankle sprain. He's been vigorously rehabbing to get ready for tonight's game, the biggest of his young life. Even if he plays, the Giants know he won't be at 100 percent, which should help them to deal with the young tight end. Even so, Brady's got more targets than just Gronk. Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, Deion Branch and more. Hey, even Chad Ochocinco could get involved tonight in the first Super Bowl of his career.

Eli is going for his second ring, which would put him ahead of his big brother, one of the best quarterbacks ever... and a win could cement him as an "ELIte" Quarterback, something many Giants fans already believe. Brady is going for his fourth. He's already a hall-of-famer, but this win would cement him as a true legend. It's going down in Indianapolis, home of both Eli's biggest rival throughout his life and Brady's throughout his career. Tonight, they add a new chapter in the rivalry of their own. Whoever wins, it should be a close, hard-fought game. But every playoff matchup this postseason that's been a rematch of a regular season matchup went the other way this time around, so you can bet Belichick won't let his Pats lose to the Giants on the big stage once more.

New York Giants 23

New England Patriots 24