Giants vs. Patriots: Defensive Players Who Will Make or Break Teams' Super Bowl

They say defense wins championships, and although this year's Super Bowl is between the high-powered offenses of the New York Giants and New England Patriots, it will take a great defensive effort from some stud players to claim a victory in this one.

Both teams have their share of playmakers on the defensive side of the ball, and it will be important that they do their jobs on championship Sunday.

This postseason, both teams have been holding down their opposition. The Giants are only allowing 13 points per game through three games, while the Patriots are just allowing 15 after two. 

One could argue that the Giants have had a tougher road in terms of offenses, as they have dealt with the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers.

Still, the Patriots had to stop the high-flying Tim Tebow and his Denver Broncos in the divisional around, and the Baltimore Ravens in the conference championship.

Both the Patriots and Giants are mostly reliable passing the ball, as quarterback Eli Manning threw for 4933 yards and Tom Brady threw for 5235 yards in the regular season.

And while both teams have had a spotty run game throughout the playoffs, it will take a total defensive effort to slow down either team.

These players will be important in making that happen for their squads.

Justin Tuck, Giants DE

This season, Tuck has once again been a beast on the defensive line for the Giants. 

In the regular season, he recorded 37 tackles with five sacks. Through just three games this postseason, he has managed to rack up nine tackles with 1.5 sacks.

He is coming off of a huge game against the 49ers, where he recorded four tackles, three of which were solo.

It will be important for him to penetrate the Patriots' backfield, and try to get in on Brady to slow down New England's passing attack.

Patriots running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis was able to get past the Ravens' strong defensive line last game, so it will be important to prevent him from making any significant progress, especially towards the outside.

Devin McCourty, Patriots CB

With fellow cornerback Kyle Arrington questionable with an eye injury, it will be important for McCourty to be ready to step up and stop the Giants' strong passing game.

They have deep threats in Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham, and it will be very difficult for this weak secondary to slow down all three of these guys.

It remains to be seen who McCourty is put on, but he will need to do his job in shutting down whoever it is that he is covering.

The other two CBs will need to do their best in covering their receivers, but going into this game McCourty is New England's best available corner at the moment.

He has only been in the league for two years, so this will be a big challenge. The secondary had a hard time in slowing down Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco in last week's game, allowing him to throw for 306 yards.

If they allow that type of yardage to Manning, they will likely be sorry.

Antrel Rolle, Giants FS

With Brady throwing well this entire season, it will be important for Rolle to be the field general for this secondary.

The team is going to have a tough time in stopping tight end Rob Gronkowski, so it will be important for a player like Rolle to come in and be able to stop him if Brady finds him in the short open field.

Rolle has recorded 96 tackles this year, and he has two interceptions to go along with that. He has been on a tear this postseason, recording 21 tackles through the team's three games.

The Giants' defense had a tough time in stopping 49ers tight end Vernon Davis, so it will be important for them to fix that to stop the Patriots' passing game, which relies heavily on its tight ends.

Jerod Mayo, Patriots MLB

As previously mentioned, the Patriots don't have a very good pass defense. They will need their fourth-year linebacker Mayo to step things up and make sure there is no way for running backs Ahmad Bradshaw or Brandon Jacobs to find a way out of the backfield.

It will also be important for Mayo to get his hands up on Manning's passes, at least giving them a chance at a deflection that could result in an interception.

Mayo is a force on this defense, and he has been strong in the playoffs thus far. He has recorded 17 tackles through the two previous games, and he should be looking to continue to be the man that stops New England's opposition.

He will need some help from his teammates, but a drop-off in his play will put this team in a lot of trouble.

Jeff Chase is a Featured Columnist for the Chicago Cubs and Arizona State football.