NFL Game Previews

Super Bowl: Who will win the rematch?

The biggest game of the year is here. The New England Patriots are facing the New York Giants in Indianapolis in the house that Peyton Manning built. This game will be a rematch of the Super Bowl in 2007 when the Giants surprised the world and beat the then undefeated Patriots, ruining their magical season. The Giants beat the Patriots earlier this year, but both teams are now completely different squads.

The Giants defense stepped up at the end of the regular season and continued to dominate in the playoffs. They nearly shut down the Falcons in the wild card round, and quieted one of the top offenses in the Green Bay Packers the next week. New York is capable of putting an incredible amount of pressure on the quarterback with its front four, which lets seven players drop back into pass protection. The Patriots have a classic bend but do not break defense. They gave up nearly the most yards in the league but surrendered just over 21 points per game in the regular season. In the playoffs, New England’s defense has improved thanks to the great play of DT Vince Wilfork.

The Giants and Patriots have two potent passing offensives thanks to quarterbacks Eli Manning and Tom Brady. Manning has had a lot of success passing to his terrific receiving duo of Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz. Brady put together a record breaking season passing to receiver Wes Welker and tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Both teams run efficiently, but the passing attacks are the stars of the show.