New York Giants: A History of Big Blue in Super Bowl Games

We have less than 24 hours to go until the Super Bowl.

This could go down as perhaps the biggest rematch in Super Bowl history between the Giants and the Patriots.

I could talk about how big this game is, but we've heard it all over the course of the last two weeks.

We've heard all the story lines and know how big this game is.

For the Giants, this will be their fifth appearance playing in the Super Bowl.

How have they done in the games?

Most diehard fans already know how they have done. So if you see this, it's basically a trip down memory lane.

But for the first-time fans or the younger generation learning the game, this is a history lesson for you. And you will see that the Giants historically have done well.

Super Bowl XXI: Giants 39, Broncos 20

During the 1986 season, the Giants were perhaps the class of the NFL.

They were 14-2 in the regular season, and they steamrolled the 49ers 49-3 and Washington Redskins 17-0 to get to the Super Bowl in Pasadena.

Their opponent in Super Bowl XXI was the Denver Broncos, led by John Elway, who knocked off the New England Patriots 22-17 and Cleveland Browns 23-20.

Super Bowl XXI was held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on January 25, 1987.

The Broncos struck first on a 48-yard field goal by Rich Karlis to put Denver up 3-0.

The Giants countered with a six-yard touchdown pass from Phil Simms to Zeke Mowatt, putting the Giants up 7-3.

Three minutes later, the Broncos drove the field, and Elway scores on a four-yard carry, putting Denver up 10-7 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, George Martin sacks Elway in the end zone for a safety, cutting the lead to 10-9, which is how the two teams entered halftime.

In the third quarter, Giants head coach Bill Parcells emphasized ball control and time of possession, which is what the Giants did.

Simms throws a 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mark Bavaro, giving the Giants a 16-10 lead.

A 21-yard field goal from Raul Allegre made it 19-10 and then a one-yard run for Joe Morris made it 26-10.

The Giants scored 17 unanswered points in the third quarter, while Denver had two total yards on 10 plays.

In the fourth quarter, Simms threw his third touchdown pass of the game—a six-yard strike to Phil McConkey, and the route was on at 33-10.

A 28-yard field goal for Karlis made it 33-13.

But the finishing touch was a two-yard touchdown run for Ottis Anderson to put the Giants up 39-13 with less than four minutes to go.

About two minutes later, Elway connected on a 47-yard touchdown pass to Vance Johnson, cutting it to 39-20, but that was all Denver could do.

The Giants defeated the Broncos to win their first Super Bowl in team history.

Simms, who was 22-of-25 with 268 yards and three touchdown passes with no interceptions, won the Super Bowl MVP Award.

Super Bowl XXV: Giants 20, Bills 19

Four years later, the Giants were back in the Super Bowl looking for their second championship in team history.

During the 1990 season, they went 13-3, knocked off the Chicago Bears 31-3 and the San Francisco 49ers 15-13 to get to Tampa. Bill Parcells was still the coach, but Phil Simms was out for this game, and backup Jeff Hostetler played the rest of the season as the starter.

Their opponents were the Buffalo Bills, led by another good quarterback in Jim Kelly, who had defeated the Miami Dolphins 44-34 and Los Angeles Raiders 51-3.

Super Bowl XXV was held at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida on January 27, 1991.

The Giants got on the board first with a 28-yard field goal by Matt Bahr to give them an early 3-0 lead.

Bills kicker Scott Norwood hit a 29-yard field goal to tie the game up at 3-3.

The Bills got the first touchdown of the game with a one-yard run by Don Smith, making it 10-3.

Bills defensive end Bruce Smith sacked Hostetler in the end zone, making it 12-3 Buffalo.

With 25 seconds left in the half, Hostetler connected on a 14-yard touchdown pass to Stephen Baker, cutting the lead down to 12-10 going into halftime.

In the third quarter, the Giants used 9:29 off the clock, converting three third downs, was 14 plays and 75 yards and ended with a one-yard run by Ottis Anderson, giving the Giants a 17-12 lead.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Thurman Thomas scored on a 31-yard run to give Buffalo the lead again at 19-17.

With eight minutes remaining, Bahr connected on a 21-yard field goal to give the Giants a 20-19 lead.

Kelly drove the Bills down to the Giants 29-yard line with eight seconds remaining, setting up a 47-yard field goal for Norwood to win the game.

But the kick sailed wide right, and the Giants held on to win 20-19.

It was their second Super Bowl championship in less than five years, and the second under Bill Parcells, who retired after the game due to health issues.

Anderson, who carried the ball 21 times for 102 yards and a touchdown, won the Super Bowl MVP Award.

Super Bowl XXXV: Ravens 34, Giants 7

It took the Giants 10 years, almost to the date, to get back to a Super Bowl.

But during the 2000 season, Giants head coach Jim Fassel guaranteed the Giants would go to the playoffs, which they did. They then defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 20-10 and Minnesota Vikings 41-0 to get to Tampa.

Their opponents were the Baltimore Ravens, who had the No. 1-ranked defense in the NFL. As a wild-card team, they beat the Denver Broncos 21-3, Tennessee Titans 24-10 and Oakland Raiders 16-3.

Super Bowl XXXV was on January 28, 2001, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

This is one of the few rare times I will talk about this game, because for a lot of Giants fans, this was an UGLY game.

The Ravens drew first blood with a 38-yard touchdown pass from Trent Dilfer to Brandon Stokley, putting them up 7-0.

In the second quarter, Giants linebacker Jesse Armstead intercepted a Dilfer pass and took it back 43 yards for the game-tying touchdown, but a holding call on Keith Hamilton nullified the score—a play I still to this day believe was the back-breaker for the Giants.

A 47-yard field goal by Matt Stover made it 10-0 Ravens, and that was the score going into halftime.

In the third quarter, Duane Starks intercepted Kerry Collins and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown, putting them up 17-0.

Following that touchdown, Ron Dixon took the kickoff and raced 97 yards into the end zone and finally got the Giants on the board, cutting the lead at 17-7.

The Giants had hope for all of about 30 seconds, because on the next kickoff to Jermaine Lewis, he took it 84 yards into the end zone, and just like that, the Ravens had a 24-7 lead.

In the fourth quarter, the Ravens tacked on a three-yard touchdown from Jamal Lewis to make it 31-7 and a 34-yard field goal from Stover to make it 34-7.

The Giants did nothing to crack the Ravens defense and simply beat down Collins.

Collins was awful, going 15-of-39 for 112 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions.

In the Giants' final four possessions, they had one total yard, and the Ravens won their first Super Bowl in team history, knocking off the Giants 34-7.

Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, who had five tackles and four deflected passes, was named Super Bowl MVP.

Super Bowl XLII: Giants 17, Patriots 14

Seven years after the disaster against the Ravens, the Giants were back on the biggest stage.

During the 2007 season, the Giants went 10-6 and as a wild-card team, beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-14, Dallas Cowboys 21-17 and Green Bay Packers to get to Glendale.

Their opponent was the 18-0 New England Patriots led by Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, who defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-20 and San Diego Chargers 21-12.

Super Bowl XLII was on February 3, 2008, and was held at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

The Giants, the 14-point underdogs in the game, took the ball first and got on the board first with a 32-yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes, giving them a 3-0 lead.

In the beginning of the second quarter, Laurence Maroney plunged in for a one-yard run to put New England up 7-3.

The score stayed like that going into halftime and all of the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Giants drove the field and scored on a five-yard touchdown from Eli Manning to David Tyree, making it 10-7 Giants.

The Giants held the Patriots down, but Brady drove the field and threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss with 2:42 left in the game, putting the Patriots up 14-10.

The Giants got the ball back with 2:39 to go on the 17-yard line.

Manning drove the Giants down the field, escaped a third-down sack to launch a 32-yard pass to David Tyree, known as "The Helmet Catch" to keep the Giants drive going.

After the 3rd-and-11 completion to Steve Smith on the 13-yard line, Manning found Plaxico Burress in the left corner of the end zone for the game-winning touchdown pass that put the Giants ahead 17-14.

The Patriots and Brady tried to get into field goal range on four tries, but failed, and the Giants pulled off the biggest upset in Super Bowl history, defeating the Patriots 17-14.

Manning, who went 19-of-34 and 255 yards with two touchdown passes, was named the Super Bowl MVP.

Super Bowl XLVI: Giants vs. Patriots

Going into Sunday, the Giants are 3-1 in Super Bowls.

The Patriots on the other hand, are 3-3.

But when the game starts on Sunday, you can take all the records and throw them out the window, because two teams have 60 minutes to play for a shot at winning a championship.

Earlier in the week, I predicted the Giants would win the Super Bowl against the Patriots.

They're on such a roll right now, and their current team may just be a little better than the 2007 roster.

They're playing in the house that Peyton Manning built in the city that he made famous—Lucas Oil Stadium, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Little brother gets a chance to win his second Super Bowl in big brother's house. How fitting that would be.

The Patriots and Tom Brady are no pushovers. But Eli Manning finds ways to win, and on Sunday, I think he does it one more time for the Giants.

Less than 24 hours to go...