Super Bowl 2012: How the Patriots Kicked Away Their Chance at Victory

The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots and took Super Bowl XLVI with them.

You'll read many articles about how good Eli Manning is, about how he's just as elite as Brady, and how Mario Manningham's catch may have won the game for the Giants.

All of which are very valid points.

And whilst Bill Belichick made the smart call to allow the touchdown and give Tom Brady enough time to try to win the football game, he may have been smarter to think outside the box earlier in the game and in doing so, may have ended up winning the Super Bowl for his team.

If Belichick was smart enough, the trophy may have been heading to New England.

What call? What play?

Go back with me to the third quarter.

There's just over 11 minutes left on the clock, and Tom Brady hits Aaron Hernandez after a brilliant move for a touchdown—taking the score to New England 16, New York Giants 9—a difference of seven.

Stephen Gostkowski comes out and kicks the extra point and the difference goes to eight.

Right call? Wrong.

A difference of eight is still reachable by scoring the touchdown and then completing the two point conversion.

However, if Gostkowski stayed on the sidelines and the Patriots went for two, the game would have had a far different ending.

If New England converts, the difference goes to nine points, which means that when Manning is on that final drive, the difference would have been three.

The defense would have played with the knowledge that as long as they stop the touchdown, they don't lose the game.

Whether or not the Giants would have still won the Super Bowl we'll never know, but if the Pats had gone for two, they could have completely rewritten the final chapter of this one.

If they don't make the two-point conversion, they are only up by one at the end and not two, and we all know there's no real difference between a one-point lead and a two-point lead on the final drive of the match.

Going for two would have been the smarter and wiser play, and ultimately, a play that could have won Super Bowl XLVI for the New England Patriots.

Instead, it's heading back to New York, and the Patriots can have all off-season to think about what could have been.

Sometimes you win by being better; other times you just win by being smarter.

As it turns out, the New England Patriots were neither.

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