Giants vs. Patriots: 5 Takeaways in New England's 21-17 Super Bowl XLVI Loss

Is Eli Manning elite? Will Tom Coughlin earn a spot in the Hall of Fame?

These questions are much more closer to their answer after a wild finish to Super Bowl XLVI. 

Where does Tom Brady sit on the altar of all-time great quarterbacks? What about Bill Belichick as one of the great head coaches?

These questions just got a little dicier.

While those answers will be had in the long-term, here are some things you can take away from the game immediately.

The Giants Followed Pittsburgh's Blueprint

With pressure on Tom Brady and a high completion percentage passing game from Eli Manning, the Giants were able to mimic a blueprint laid forth by the Pittsburgh Steelers way back in Week 8.

They similarly dominated the time-of-possession battle in the first quarter, 11:28 for the Giants to just 3:32 for the Patriots.

This is nothing new for New England, which suffered from slow starts all season long. This marked the fifth time this season in which the Patriots failed to score any points in the first quarter of a game.

In the end, the Giants finished with three sacks and an interception off Tom Brady, and although the pressure didn't seem to bother him for the most part, the Giants defense was able to create enough negative pass plays to change the game.

No Balance for the Patriots

On the night, Tom Brady dropped back 44 times and the Patriots ran the ball just 19 times. That's hardly the kind of balance you need to have when playing a defense like the Giants. Specifically on third down, the Patriots called nine pass plays and just two runs.

They were actually pretty effective running the ball, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. A little more balance could have gone a long way, especially when the aerial attack was having such a hard time getting on the same page in the second half.

Tom Brady vs. Eli Manning Proves to Be the Difference...Just Not How We Expected

It was a tough start to the day for Brady, whose first play from the pocket was an intentional grounding in the end zone for a safety. However, Brady came out swinging late in the second quarter, and had 11 straight completions headed into halftime. In fact, the Patriots quarterback set a Super Bowl record with 16 straight completions. But other than those 16 straight completions, he went 11-for-25.

It wasn't all on Brady, as there were a lot of drops by his receivers that resulted in the offense getting out of sync as well as some batted passes. In the end, the Patriots made enough mistakes and didn't execute well enough in key spots, which allowed the Giants to hang around.

And as we all know, that's not such a great idea when the quarterback on the other side of the ball is Eli Manning. He started the game with a Super Bowl-record eight straight completions, and finished 30-for-40. He led his eighth fourth-quarter comeback of the year with his big drive against the Patriots in the final minutes.

Eli truly is elite.

Stats Are for Losers

It's hard to find specific stats from this game that stand out as reasons why the Patriots lost, but just know this: The Patriots have made big plays when they've needed to this season, and they weren't able to do so against the Giants. In the end, the Giants were simply able to make the plays they needed to make in order to win the game.

And believe me, there were plays to be made by the Patriots. The Giants recovered two of their own fumbles, and had another one overturned.

The Giants weren't spectacular, but did just enough down the stretch to eke out a win. And in the biggest game of the year, that's all that really matters.

This Team Will Be Back

Many casual fans may look at Tom Brady, age 34, and say that the window is closing for New England. On the contrary, the Patriots have two first-round picks and two second-round picks in April's draft. They also have over $20 million in cap space. This is plenty to make one or two free-agent acquisitions.

Who will the new additions be? Will they be enough to help the team get back to the Super Bowl?

It's a long climb back to the top, but there's still plenty of reason for hope for Patriots fans. And as long as Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are in the fold, the Patriots will always have a chance.

Erik Frenz is the co-host of the PatsPropaganda and Frenz podcast. Follow Erik on Twitter.