Giants vs. Patriots Super Bowl XLVI Prediction: Who's Going to Disney World?

Ladies and gentlemen, it is February 5th, 2012. Today is Super bowl XLVI!

We will be treated with a Super Bowl XLII rematch between the 13-3 New England Patriots and the 9-7 New York Giants.

I will include reviews, injury reports, team X-factors, key matchups and breakdowns for how the teams will win, as well as provide a final score.

Let's look at the game we the fans have been waiting for all season!

New England Patriots: How They Got Here

The New England Patriots are one of the teams in the AFC who set the benchmark every season.

The Patriots are led by head coach Bill Belichick and QB Tom Brady, who both still rank amongst the best in the NFL.

Brady along with RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis, WRs Wes Welker and Deion Branch and TEs Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, torched defenses all season, averaging 32 points a game.

The defense, although not great, never entirely collapsed.

Enjoying a first-round bye thanks to being the No. 1 seed in the AFC, the Patriots would go on to throttle the Denver Broncos, 45-10.

In the AFC championship, the Patriots would beat the Baltimore Ravens in a nail-biter where the Ravens would have miscues on a field goal in the late moments in the game.

With only a few players with Super bowl experience, a weak pass defense and an injured Rob Gronkowski, this Patriots team may not be the best on paper, but they are still dangerous.

New York Giants: How They Got Here

The New York Giants are back in the Super Bowl for the fifth time in franchise history.

While many critics weren’t expecting much from the G-Men this season, they would once again shock the football world with another improbable run.

During the final month of the regular season, New York won three of its four last games; including a winner-take-all showdown against the Dallas Cowboys for the NFC East title and the No. 4 seed.

With a 9-7 record and a injury-plagued roster, head coach Tom Coughlin would lead his team on the hardest road to the Super Bowl.

Manning and his young batch of receivers Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham and Victor Cruz would prove to be a very formidable group in the postseason.

The defense would also make their presence felt as their defensive line, led by Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul, would get to the opposing quarterback and force turnovers late in the regular season.

The Giants started things off by thrashing the Atlanta Falcons, 24-2.

The next week, they upset the Green Bay Packers on the road with a commanding 37-20 victory.

In the NFC championship game, New York traveled to San Francisco and won a thriller 20-17 in overtime.

Injury Report: Patriots

Deion Branch: Probable 

Wes Welker: Questionable

Rob Gronkowski: Questionable

(According to the Boston Globe.)

Injury Report: Giants

Ahmad Bradshaw: Probable

Hakeem Nicks: Probable

(According to the NFL Network's Albert Breer.)

X-Factors: Patriots

BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB

The Patriots running back has 11 scores on the ground and gets quality yards every time he touches the football.

If he can get 100-plus yards on the ground, QB Tom Brady will be much more comfortable in the pocket against a tough Giants pass rush.

X-Factors: Giants

Jake Ballard, TE

Everyone who scouts against the Giants expect players like Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham and Victor Cruz to make plays in the receiving game, but I expect Ballard to make plays on the big stage. He won’t be accounted for by the Patriots defense.

Key Matchups

Patriots Defensive Line (Edge) vs. Giants Offensive Line

In the AFC championship game, the Giants offensive line struggled against the 49ers pass rush and Eli Manning got sacked five times.

The Patriots defensive line, led by DT Vince Wilfork, is a massive front. They won’t get to Manning like the 49ers did, but I expect them to disrupt him more than a few times.

Giants Secondary (Edge) vs. Patriots Receivers

Even if TE Rob Gronkowski plays, I won’t see him as much of a threat.

The secondary is going to face its attention to TE Aaron Hernandez and WR Wes Welker.

If the secondary can blanket the receivers just enough, the pass rush will get to Tom Brady.

Breakdown: How the Giants Can Win

I expect this game to be close throughout, but a bit different from the last game the two teams played in Week 9. 

The Giants running game has really improved since the playoffs began, so I look for the offense to try to establish the run early and then open things up in the passing game.

The running game is key if New York has championship aspirations.

Breakdown: How the Patriots Can Win

Just like the Giants need to run the ball to set up the passing game, this will be the blueprint the Patriots offense needs to follow as well. 

The offensive line must protect Brady, because the Giants defensive line is formidable to say the least.

Prediction

I believe the New York Giants will defeat the New England Patriots thanks to a dominant defensive line and the improvement in the running game.

With a Giants Victory, New York will prove that its win over the Patriots in the Super Bowl was not a fluke and Eli Manning will finally prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he is elite.

Prediction: New York Giants 30, New England Patriots 20