Super Bowl 2012: New England Patriots Are a Lock to Win in Indy

The New England Patriots defense is suddenly a juggernaut after being the exact opposite for the vast majority of the season.

With their surprising resurgence, there is no doubt the Pats are going to beat the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI.

After finishing the regular season 31st in pass defense (allowing 293.9 yards a game), they have suddenly become somewhat difficult to throw on. Tim Tebow was only able to muster 136 yards through the air, while Joe Flacco finished Sunday with 306. That’s a 221 yards-per-game average.

The biggest difference in their 23-20 win was containing star running back Ray Rice.

The Pro Bowler was only able to muster 67 yards on 21 carries for a 3.2 average. The lack of balance put too much pressure on Flacco to be the hero and as a result the game was placed on the shoulders of a kicker.

We all know how that turned out.

The Pats won the AFC Championship Game despite receiving a subpar effort from QB Tom Brady. Normally Mr. Perfect, Brady was 22-of-36 for 239 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions, including a very costly one in the fourth quarter.

After the game, he sounded like a player with a new chance at life:

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Well, I sucked pretty bad today, but our defense saved us. I'm going to try to go out and do a better job in a couple of weeks, but I'm proud of this team, my teammates.

"

Above all other factors going into the Super Bowl, how often does Brady have two bad games in a row?

I fully expect him to take advantage of a 29th-ranked Giants pass defense that allowed him to throw for 342 yards and two touchdowns earlier this season. The Giants won that Week 9 game 24-20 because the pass defense allowed Eli Manning to score a touchdown with only 15 seconds remaining. The defense let them down in that game, but now that seems like eons ago.

With a rejuvenated Vince Wilfork, the unexpected heroics of Sterling Moore and the return of Patrick Chung in the secondary, this unit is a lot closer to the ’07 version than the ’11 version at this point.

Let’s not forget that the Pats gained 438 total yards compared to the Giants' 361, while the Patriots turned the ball over four times compared to the G-Men’s two. As long as New England minimizes their turnovers, they are the more talented team.

With the added motivation of erasing the demons of the ’08 Super Bowl, expect the Patriots offense to match the defense's effort on the biggest stage in sports.