Championship Sunday: Taking a Look at Sunday's Top 10 MVPs

The Super Bowl rematch is set.  The New England Patriots will have two weeks to lick their chops to get revenge on the New York Giants at Super Bowl XLVI.

The Giants and Patriots put together strong games in every facet.  But as it turned out, the main reason these two teams will be playing again is the fact that their third phase, the special teams, dominated their opponents. 

As we prepare to dissect the upcoming Giants/Patriots matchup in the next couple weeks, let's take a look at the most valuable players on Sunday.  

Honorable Mention: Mark Anderson

What a revelation the former Chicago Bear has been this year for the Patriots. 

Anderson helped the Bears getting 12 sacks in his rookie year.  However he only had 13.5 sacks the next five seasons as he bounced between the Bears and Houston Texans.

However as a Patriot he had 10 sacks this year and was a constant disturbance for Joe Flacco today getting three tackles, a sack and two more hits on the quarterback.

10) Devin Thomas

He may not have been involved offensively, but Thomas's keen eye on the football barely deflecting off of Kyle Williams' leg in the fourth quarter kept the Giants alive as Eli Manning quickly capitalized on the turnover.

Many players would have not seen this, or not had the instincts to pick up the ball and run it back to the end zone.  While rules say the ball cannot be advanced, his clear recovery allowed the Giants to challenge the fumble and subsequent recovery.

If that wasn't big enough he recovered a second fumble in overtime that helped lead to the Giants kicking the eventual game winner. 

In a game where every little mistake proved to be huge, the recovery by Thomas helped keep the Giants' season alive. 

9) Steve Weatherford

A punter?  Really?  Absolutely!

A big reason the Giants defense dominated the 49ers offense throughout the game was due to the great field position generated by Weatherford's punts.

He booted 12 balls in the game for a super average of 46.4 yards, including one that went 57 yards. It should be noted his last punt traveled less than 30 yards due to a bad snap and a subsequently rushed kick in order to avoid a block. 

In addition, he managed to handle a very low snap in overtime perfectly and got the ball in place for Lawrence Tynes to kick a game-winning field goal in overtime.

In a game that was a defensive struggle, Weatherford's ability to continually pin the 49ers deep in their own territory was key.

You can certainly argue that without Weatherford's great game, the Giants may be watching the Super Bowl instead of playing in it. 

8) Vince Wilfork

Perhaps Vince Wilfork's true value in his game against the Ravens won't show up on a score sheet, even though he did have six tackles (three for a loss) and a sack.

But Wilfork helped lead the Pats' defense in stopping Ray Rice and the vaunted Ravens rush offense.  Overall, the Ravens only ran the ball for 3.7 yards per carry, well below their season average of 4.3. 

Wilfork spearheaded this attack and helped put the onus on Joe Flacco. 

7) Joe Flacco

The only sport you sometimes see a losing player win any sort of most valuable player award is hockey (in which a losing goaltender in the playoffs may win the Conn Smythe Trophy thanks to his tremendous play throughout the postseason).

But Joe Flacco deserves credit today.  He did something that no one thought possible...he outplayed Tom Brady.  The fact that the Patriots still won despite this is frankly very surprising.

Flacco was 22-of-36 for 306 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.  His 95.4 rating was much higher than Brady's 57.5.

While the Ravens lost, you can't fault Flacco.  A man that many thought would be a liability put his team in a position to win in the waning seconds. 

But a crucial dropped pass by Lee Evans in the end zone and a shockingly botched kick by Billy Cundiff two plays later ended Baltimore's season.

Flacco and the Ravens may have lost, but the oft criticized quarterback proved that he truly is a franchise player in defeat. 

6) Victor Cruz

The only reason Cruz isn't higher on the list is the fact he accumulated the vast majority of his numbers in the first half. 

The great 49ers defense obviously made adjustments at halftime to shut him down.  They had to make adjustments though because Cruz was personally shredding the 49ers for the first 30 minutes and was a lifeline to Eli Manning.

While he didn't have a touchdown, Cruz had 10 catches for 142 yards. 

The story of Cruz is truly amazing as he was a relative no name as the season started.  He now heads to Indianapolis as quite possibly the most important offensive weapon on the Giants not named Eli Manning. 

5) BenJarvus Green-Ellis

If you would have told me before the game that Ellis would have had as many touchdowns as Tom Brady, I would have said you were crazy.

Well not only did they each have one touchdown, Brady's only score was actually on a fourth-down dive early in the fourth quarter.

Though Brady was historically good against the Denver Broncos last week, he struggled mightily against the Ravens going just 22-of-36 for 239 yards (just a 6.6 yard per completion average) with two interceptions and zero touchdowns.

The Patriots needed Ellis to step up and he did so, running the ball 15 times for 68 yards and a touchdown

Those numbers certainly aren't the best in the world, but for a team that relies so heavily on a potent passing attack, it was refreshing to see the Patriots utilize Ellis who would most likely be a consistent 1,000 yard back on another team.

Without Ellis and his clutch running, the Patriots may never have been in a position to win late in the fourth quarter. 

4) Brandon Spikes

The AFC Championship today was a true gut check for the Patriots as they could not win using their typical playbook; relying on Tom Brady to throw for over 300 yards and at least three touchdowns.

The Ravens managed to shut down Brady throughout the game.  In order to win, the Patriots had to get down and dirty and engage in a slug fest with a Baltimore team that usually thrives in those types of contests.

But the Patriots ran the ball when they needed to and their defense played perhaps its best game in over a year.  Brandon Spikes was one of, if not their best defensive player today as he led the team with nine tackles and had a clutch interception in the fourth quarter.

The Patriots defense has been the butt of many jokes this year as they gave up 6,577 yards in the regular season,  but when the Pats needed the defense most, they came through today thanks to the play of guys like Spikes. 

3) Entire Giants Defensive Line

I remember a time about 10 years ago when John Madden gave an entire defensive line the ceremonial turkey legs at the end of a game because of their strong play.

Well, the Giants line deserves a team wide credit today by keeping Alex Smith uncomfortable for virtually the entire game. 

Though Smith was able to hook up with Vernon Davis for two big touchdowns, that was virtually all the 49ers were able to accomplish through the air.

Smith completed an astonishing 193 of his 196 yards to running backs and tight ends.  Just one pass was caught by a receiver, an inconsequential three-yard grab by Michael Crabtree.

Throughout the game, Smith seemed to be running for his life.  The numbers don't do the Giants' pressure justice.  Yes they had three sacks and another six hits on Smith, but it was only due to Smith's speed and elusiveness that those numbers weren't at least doubled.

Still, time and again Smith was flushed from the pocket and throwing errant passes.  Overall he was 12-of-26 for 196 yards, though to his credit he did not throw a pick.

Many people compare the 2007 Giants to this year's team, and the pressure of the defensive line led by Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul is a big reason why. 

2) Opposing Special Teams

You hate to place blame on players, but sometimes it's just so obvious you have no choice.

Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff and 49ers punt returner Kyle Williams were valuable players, but for the wrong teams!

With seconds to go with his team down three, Cundiff had a virtual chip shot 32yard field-goal attempt.  Though it was not a perfect snap, Cundiff had a clean ball to kick and hooked it so badly he probably would have missed from 25 yards.

His miss capped off an improbable loss for the Ravens who won in virtually every statistic.  Joe Flacco outplayed Brady, the Ravens caused more turnovers and Baltimore outgained their high-powered counterpart.

That takes us to San Francisco and Kyle Williams, who was returning punts because Ted Ginn Jr. was injured.  His fourth quarter turnover, in which his indecisiveness to return a punt caused a ball to deflect off his leg, was bad enough.

But he fumbled yet another punt in overtime that led to the Giants eventually kicking a game-winning field goal.

The players on both the 49ers and the Ravens are saying all the right things.  Ray Lewis said it best after the game when he exclaimed, "We win as a team, we lose as a team.  It happens.  (We) move on, move on as a man because life doesn't stop." 

In the end though, these two players were very much responsible for the demise of their respective clubs.  Here is to hoping they and their teams will be able to recover next year. 

1) Eli Manning

If Eli Manning hasn't managed to convince you that he is an elite quarterback, then he never will.

While he didn't lead his team on an iconic game-winning drive tonight, he kept his team alive against a ferocious 49ers defense.

Despite a relatively low scoring game, Manning threw the ball 58 times, completing 32 of them for 316 yards and two touchdowns.  The fact that he only threw it for 5.4 yards per completion tells you how he had to grind this game out against a defense that seemingly refused to give up a big play.

What people won't likely remember from this game is just how darn tough Eli Manning is.  Like Alex Smith, Manning was often running for his life, trying to keep plays alive and allow his receivers to get open.

Manning was sacked six times and was hit another 12 times throughout the game, and that doesn't count all the times he was rushed out of the pocket.

Through all of this adversity and intermittent pouring rain showers, Manning managed to guide his team to yet another big road playoff victory.

I doubt many people will try to argue that Eli Manning has more raw talent than his older brother Peyton. 

But I will tell you this.  Eli Manning has managed to make a very credible argument that in the fourth quarter of a big game, he's the Manning brother you want guiding your team in that situation.

Now, he'll have the opportunity to shine in the Super Bowl again in what could be an epic rematch against the New England Patriots.