Giants vs. Patriots: New York's Pass Rush Will Be Key to Super Bowl XLVI

The New York Giants were able to pull out an upset win in Super Bowl XLII thanks to a fierce pass rush that disrupted everything the New England Patriots tried to do offensively. If the G-Men want to score a similar upset in Super Bowl XLVI, they will need to wreak the same type of havoc along the line of scrimmage.

The Giants finished the regular season with 48 sacks, which ranked third in the NFL in 2011. New York has added nine more sacks in three postseason games. Considering how leaky their secondary is, the Giants need to do as much as they can up front to beat New England.

New York wrapped up the regular season ranked 29th in the NFL in pass defense, allowing 255.1 yards per game. The only way to stop the assault that is surely coming from the Patriots' second-ranked passing attack (317.8 yards per game), is for the defensive front to get to New England quarterback Tom Brady.

The Giants do most of their damage along the defensive line from the end spot. Jason Pierre-Paul led the way this season with 16.5 sacks. Osi Umenyiora had nine, while Dave Tollefson and Justin Tuck each had five. In the postseason, Umenyiora has been dominant with 3.5 so far.

All in all New York's defensive ends combined for 35.5 sacks this season, a remarkable total. Those guys all need to step up and have great games against New England's defensive line for the Giants to have a chance for the win.

The Patriots only allowed 32 sacks all season. Considering they totaled 612 passing attempts that is an incredibly low number. 

If the Giants can somehow get pressure, we could see a repeat of the low-scoring result from the last time these two teams met in the Super Bowl. If that happens it will come down to the end and no one has been better late in games this season than Giants quarterback Eli Manning.