Super Bowl Predictions 2012: Why New York Giants Are Destined to Win It All

The New York Giants are going to win the Super Bowl. This team is scorching hot right now. They've improved where they needed to, and they have come together as a team at just the right time. 

They are now the most balanced team in the playoffs. New York will roll out of San Francisco with a win, and then will leave Indianapolis with the Lombardi trophy. 

Here's why.

Peaking at the Right Time

The NFL is all about getting hot at the right time, and the Giants are doing just that. This team succeeded early in the year despite playing horrible defense.

That bad defense then caught up with them and they lost four straight games. That streak ended with a clutch Week 14 win against the Cowboys, and all of a sudden New York has won five of their last six games. 

In that stretch, they have their highest scoring game of the season, and their opposition's lowest score of the season. 

Improved Defense

The Giants' offense has performed all season. It is on the defensive side where this team has made big strides. 

In their past four games, they have allowed just 12.5 points per game. New York has made their biggest strides in pass defense. 

For the season, the Giants allowed 6.7 yards per pass attempt. They have really put the clamps down, though. In their last three games of the regular season, they allowed just 5.4 yards per pass attempt. And that defense has kept up their stellar play in the playoffs. In their last game, they held the mighty Aaron Rodgers to just 5.7 yards per pass attempt.

To put this all in perspective, the Packers led the NFL in yards per pass attempt at 8.7, and the Steelers led the NFL with 5.6 yards allowed per pass attempt. 

Year of Eli

Despite having already won a Super Bowl, Eli Manning has been considered a mid-level QB. He was just too inconsistent to be considered elite. 

He has put that all behind him now. He threw for 4,933 yards, 29 touchdowns and 16 interceptions to post a QB rating of 92.9. This is slightly behind his career best rating of 93.1, posted in 2009, but he has been asked to carry more of the offense than ever before this year. 

He has been even better in the playoffs, where he has a rating of 121.8. Manning is playing the best football of his career right now, and that is going to lead the Giants to a Super Bowl victory.