New York Giants at New England Patriots
The New York Giants have been strong and healthy for their entire playoff run. Their defensive front has been absolutely monstrous and they’ve been shutting down teams left and right. The 49ers put up 17 points against the strong defense, and although they aren’t nearly as explosive as the Patriots they had put up enough points to beat the Saints. If Eli Manning can do what he’s done all season and stay on his feet while hitting Nicks, Cruz, and Manningham over the top then he is going to have a great game on Sunday night. I think the biggest wild card for the Giants is going to be the presence of Jake Ballard at tight end. If he ends up having a good game blocking, and both intermediate and check down receptions during this game it could show the Giants chipping away down the field. If the offensive line can keep Eli upright, and the defense front can get to Brady then I think the Giants have everything working in their favor.
The Patriots have Tom Brady. Sure Brady doesn’t play defense, and he did have a horrible game against the Ravens, but Brady has everything it takes to both lead and manage his team better than anyone else playing for either team in this game. Tom Brady has post season experience, he’s played against the Giants multiple times, and he has one of the best receiving cores in the NFL this season. The defense is easily the most questionable facet that sits in the Patriots arsenal. They aren’t as bad as most people have been saying all year, and if it weren’t for little known key players like Sterling Moore then the Patriots wouldn’t even be playing on Super Bowl Sunday. It is going to take some stellar play from the Patriots secondary to keep them in contention during this game. The Giants wide receivers are far better than the secondary that New England will be throwing up in opposition, but if somehow those guys can shut down the explosive wide outs the Pats will be looking good. The biggest wild card for most people is probably whether or not Gronk is going to be healthy enough to be his normal self, but I think even if he is hurt he’s going to play as he has all season, a monster. To me the biggest wild card is Mayo, Spikes and Wilfork. If that triangle of trouble can cause chaos in the Giants front line then the Patriots will be looking good late Sunday night.
In my mind everything points to the Giants winning. They have better wide receivers, they have equally as good running backs, their quarterback isn’t as good but he can contend, and their defense is far superior to anything that the Patriots will be putting on the field. However having said that, things can get very weird during the big game, and this year I think that something is going to click with the Patriots defense and they are going to spark a few turnovers and surprise the world.
Super Bowl Champions
New England Patriots 27 – New York Giants 24
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