Patriots vs. Giants: 3 Key Matchups That Will Shape Super Bowl XLVI

The New York Giants upset the then-perfect New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII by ferociously attacking Tom Brady on every possible play.

Big Blue held the record-setting offense to only 14 points and, to no surprise, that will be the Giants' game plan this year as well.

Four years later, nothing has changed—actually, something has changed: Eli Manning.

All the players will continue to say that these aren't the same teams that were in Super Bowl XLII, nor the same teams that played in Week 9.

That may be true, but there is absolutely no denying that Eli Manning has changed.

The Super Bowl XLII MVP has played at an MVP-caliber level again this postseason and comes in to the Super Bowl posing as much a threat to the Patriots defense as Brady does to the Giants.

This time around the Giants' pass rush against Brady is not the only key matchup (although it is No. 1).

Giants' Front Four vs. Patriots O-Line

The term pass rush would take some of the credit off the Giants' down lineman. Pass rush would indicate they might use the blitz to get to the other quarterback.

The Giants don't have to blitz with the talent they have up front. They sometimes will to keep teams off-balance, but the Giants front four are masters of twists, stunts and alignments.

Their NASCAR package—four defensive ends on the line, creates complete havoc for offensive lines. They create pressure through the interior, off the edges and can even use a delayed blitz as well.

If the Pats are overwhelmed and cannot account for everyone, it will cause nightmares for Tom Brady.

Patriots Secondary vs. Eli Manning/Giants WRs

Eli Manning took a beating at the hands of the 49ers' front seven last weekend. It is safe to say that nothing else should even remotely scare No. 10, not even if Vince Wilfork comes free up the middle.

The Pats will certainly try to push the pocket on Eli and will want to get pressure up the middle, but the real matchup comes down to how the secondary handles Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz and Mario Manningham.

Even on poorly thrown balls, although Eli hasn't thrown many at all in the latter portion of the season, the Giants receivers can adapt as good, if not better, than anyone else in the league.

New England's corners have to wrap up when the Giants receivers make catches. They have to know who goes where if two receivers are in their zone. They have to be sure that no Giants receiver gets behind them because Eli will make them pay immediately.

The Patriots secondary could very easily cost them this game.

Giants Safeties vs. Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez

These two tight ends are impossible to cover. Heck, Bill Belichick even has Hernandez running the ball nowadays.

Big Blue loves to use three safeties and it would be shocking to see them with anything less on the field at all in this game. Deon Grant is basically a linebacker, but is also a veteran presence who understands the game as good as anyone.

If the Giants decide to use Antrel Rolle or Kenny Phillips exclusively on Gronkowski, Grant becomes a potential liability anywhere beyond 10 yards downfield.

New England will watch a lot of tape on how the Giants tried to cover Jermichael Finely in Green Bay—who was open but dropped the ball too many times—in order to exploit their advantage even more.

Big Blue will have a hard enough time covering Wes Welker as it is, but they have to be able to defend Gronkowski and Hernandez if the pass rush doesn't get there.

When Super Bowl Sunday rolls around, the chess match between Tom Coughlin and Bill Belichick will be legendary. Whoever wins these matchups will win the football game.