Super Bowl Over/Under: Defenses Will Dominate Battle Between Giants and Patriots

It would be easy to look at the offensive talent on the field when the New York Giants line up across from the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI and expect the fireworks to fly. But if you are looking for a points war, you are going to have to find another game to watch. 

The bookies are expecting this to feature a lot of big plays, as evidenced by the fact that the over/under for this game has been set at 55 points. 

But that's the beauty of betting on sports: No one really knows anything until the games are over. Should we just dismiss what both these defenses have been able to do in the postseason?

The Giants have held all three of their opponents to 20 points or less and the only time that they broke the over in these playoffs was against Green Bay. 

The Patriots had a strong showing on offense against the Denver Broncos in the AFC divisional round, but that defense really nothing to contain Tom Brady and co. 

Despite their 45-point outburst in that game, the Patriots have shown signs of wearing down late in the season. They went down by 17 and 21 points to Miami and Buffalo in the final two games of the regular season. 

Now, they did come back in a big way both times, so the concern was alleviated. However, two weeks ago against Baltimore in the AFC Championship Game, the offense had a lot of problems. 

Brady had no touchdown passes and two interceptions. He was outplayed by Joe Flacco in a game that decided which team went to the Super Bowl. 

We have seen what the Giants are capable of doing against the Patriots already. When they played in Week 9, the Giants were able to get pressure on Brady all game long without bringing any extra pass-rushers. 

That game only featured 44 points. While the Giants are playing substantially better than they were in the first game with the Patriots, there is no reason to think that their performance will lead to 11 more points being scored. 

The oddsmakers may look at the raw offensive talent in this game and see 55 total points, but when you dig deeper it is clear that this game is going to be lucky to break 40. 

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