Super Bowl 2012: New York Giants' 5 Biggest X-Factors

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One of the greatest Super Bowls ever played gets its rematch Sunday.  The New York Giants once again enter as the underdogs but to a much lesser degree than four years ago. 

Both teams are preparing for battle having barely survived their conference championship games.  

If the Week 9 contest between the Giants and New England Patriots is any prelude, football fans are in for a tightly contested Super Bowl.

A few key matchups will play an enormous role in Sunday’s games.  New York stands a very good chance to defeat New England if it finds a way to be effective in these critical areas.

Pass Rush

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A little obvious, right?  Who can forget the G-Men’s 60-minute ambush on Tom Brady four years ago, limiting the remarkable Patriots’ offense to just 14 points?

Brady looked about as comfortable as a seat in Cameron Indoor Stadium's student section.

It is critical that Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora disrupt Brady, negating the Pats’ biggest weapon.  Brady has proved time and time again that he will destroy any defense that gives him time to make throws in the pocket.

Eli Manning

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Quick!  Jump on the Eli Manning bandwagon before his ring total doubles older brother’s.  So far during throughout this postseason, Manning has provided leadership fueling the Giants on O.

Although New England’s passing defense has been better during the postseason, it’s hard to forget its 31st regular-season ranking, which allowed nearly 294 passing yards per game.  

More than likely, Manning will have to shred this Patriots defense if the Giants hope to win.

C’mon—even Joe Flacco and his atrocious mustache managed 306 yards and two touchdowns.

Running Game

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Following suit with the rest of the league, the Giants relied more on the pass than the rush this year.  Well, that’s kind of an understatement.

Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs spearheaded the 32nd-ranked run offense in the league.  Their postseason performances haven’t been much better, either.

Running the ball with any degree of success will be huge for New York. The burden would be lessened on Manning and, more importantly, New England’s offense will be stuck on the sideline.

Hakeem Nicks

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After amassing 280 yards receiving and four touchdowns over New York’s first two playoff games, Nicks was held to 55 yards receiving and zero TD against a stellar San Francisco defense.

Although Victor Cruz picked up a lot of the slack against the Niners, expect a big game from Nicks.

Nicks and the Giants’ entire receiving corps should be salivating to face a pass defense as mediocre as New England’s in the Super Bowl.

Lawrence Tynes

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For whatever reason, this has truly been football’s “year of the kicker” at both the college and professional level. 

Sunday’s matchup very well could have been Giants-Ravens if not for the foot of Billy Cundiff.

Tynes has been accurate all season, converting 80 percent on field-goal attempts during the regular season and 6-of-8 during the postseason.  

Clutch kicking is always a commodity in Super Bowls (see: the '00s Patriots), and with two evenly matched teams, Super Bowl XLVI might be decided by a late FG.