Super Bowl 2012: New England Patriots Defense Will Cost Them a Championship

The New England Patriots fielded the 31st-ranked pass defense in the 2011 regular season, giving up an average of 293.9 yards per game.

They allowed Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco to throw for over 300 yards for just the fifth time this season in the AFC championship game—a game in which the Pats also gave up 116 yards on the ground.

If that's the defense that shows up in the Super Bowl against the New York Giants offense, then there's little chance that the Patriots can win their fourth championship of the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era.

The New York Giants field one of the top offensive units in the NFL.

Quarterback Eli Manning threw for nearly 5,000 yards in the regular season and, despite their offensive struggles in the NFC championship game against the San Francisco 49ers, he still managed to throw for 316 yards.

Clearly, the Patriots cannot lean on their offense alone to win the Super Bowl this year.

The unit struggled against the Baltimore Ravens' conference-leading defense in the AFC championship game, with Brady throwing for just 239 yards and zero passing touchdowns while being picked off twice.

The Giants defense more than exhibited their strength during their playoff run, giving up just 39 points in the three games that brought them to the Super Bowl.

They've proven they are capable of stopping high-scoring offenses in a year when it seemed like having one of those high-scoring offenses would be all it takes for a team to waltz into the Super Bowl and easily win it.

However, the Patriots haven't proven capable of stopping many teams this year, including the Giants themselves, who defeated New England in Week 9, 24-20.

The Giants managed that win by playing strong on defense, forcing four Patriots turnovers and quickly turning a third quarter fumble recovery into a 10-yard touchdown.

They'll likely look to repeat that effort in Indianapolis, and they are fully capable of doing so.

The Patriots defense likely would prefer to put forth that kind of effort themselves, but it's not likely unless they make some serious and effective changes in a very short while.

Giving up over 300 yards to Manning means that New England will likely find themselves in a shootout against the best fourth-quarter quarterback in the NFL this year, which is not a good position to be in if they hope to win.

Despite how it seemed throughout the regular season—with offense after offense putting up record-setting and -breaking performances—it is still defense that wins championships.

For the Patriots, the lack of a strong defense could certainly cost them a Super Bowl championship.