Super Bowl 2012 Score: Mental Mistakes Killing the Patriots Early

The New England Patriots are crippling themselves with mental mistakes.

They committed just three penalties in their first two playoff games, but the Patriots have come out skittish in the Super Bowl. Normally the Patriots dominate teams with their mental toughness, but two stupid errors have put them in an early 9-3 hole.

After getting pinned deep in their own territory, Tom Brady threw the ball to no one in particular while standing in his own end zone. The intentional grounding penalty resulted in a safety, giving the Giants a 2-0 lead.

After Brady's safety, Eli led the Giants on a nine-play, 78-yard touchdown drive. The Patriots forced a fumble in the red zone, but that was reversed because they had 12 men on the field. Just moments later, Manning hit Victor Cruz for a 2-yard touchdown strike.

If the Patriots want to avenge their 2008 loss, they must start playing like a Bill Belichick-coached team. They can't afford to have any penalties, let alone ones that come in critical areas of the field.

The Giants are also winning the battle at the line of scrimmage. Although New England has sacked Eli Manning twice, New York gained positive yards on all but three plays in the first quarter.

Manning and the Giants offense set the tone on the opening drive, marching into Patriots territory with ease. Manning completed all four of his passes on the drive for 40 yards, including a gorgeous 19-yarder to Hakeem Nicks.

Although the Patriots defense got off the field three plays later, the Giants proved that they can get whatever they want against the porous New England secondary.

The Patriots are only down six, so this game is far from over. But if they don't fix the mental mistakes, they will once again go home as Super Bowl losers.