Match Up: After an up and down regular season, the NY Giants needed to beat the Dallas Cowboys in the final regular season game to even make the playoffs. Since then, they have been on a roll beating the best teams in the NFC. The Patriots on the other hand have been rock solid all season and are looking to avenge their loss in Super Bowl XLII to the NY Giants. The rematch brings back the same ornery coaches of Tom Coughlin and Bill Belichick, as well as All-Pro quarterbacks Tom Brady and Eli Manning.

Four years ago, the Patriots came in to the game as heavy favorites after an undefeated regular season. They remain early 3 1/2 point favorites for Super Bowl XLVI, but it's a much closer match up this time around. Brady qualified for his fifth trip to the Super Bowl by beating the Ravens 23-20. He and Bill Belichick became the first quarterback-coach duo to go to five Super Bowls.

The New York Giants are NFC champions after outlasting the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 in overtime. David Tyree and his helmet catch are retired. So is former Giants great defensive end Mike Strahan and wide receiver Amani Toomer. Plaxico Burress is a New York Jet. For the Patriots, Randy Moss, Rodney Harrison, Asante Samuel, Mike Vrabel and Tedy Bruschi aren’t around either. Thus, for as much as people will want to draw parallels between those teams, much has changed. Can the Patriots’ secondary handle the Giants’ wide receivers Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks, and Mario Manningham? Can the Giants contain wide receiver Wes Welker and tight end Rob Gronkowski? Can either team run the ball effectively enough to control the clock?