2012 NFL Schedule: 4 Regular Season Super Bowl Previews

Super Bowl XLVI was a regular season rematch between the New York Giants and New England Patriots, just as it was in Super Bowl XLII.

Prior to those two same-season Super Bowl rematches, it's happened many times since the 1966-67 NFL season and will likely happen again.

With the opponents having been released back in January, let's take a look at some possible 2012 rematches in Super Bowl XLVII.

(Note: Each of the cross-divisional games only use one team for the sake of a more broad perspective.)

San Francisco 49ers vs. New England Patriots

The Patriots host the 49ers during the regular season, and with this being a colossal matchup between New England's offense and San Francisco's defense, what a Super Bowl this would be.

With Tom Brady and his numerous weapons to spread the defense and setup play-action, the 49ers defense will be facing arguably their toughest offense in quite some time. 

Also, Brady and the Pats will be seeing one of the NFL's best pass rushes and an excellent secondary in Carlos Rogers, Donte Whitner and Dashon Goldson.

New England will not only have a tough time running the rock, but San Francisco's spruced up offense will get Bill Belichick's defense on its heels. Mario Manningham and Randy Moss will open up the ground game, and Alex Smith's mobility will force the linebackers to play against the run.

Lest we forget about Frank Gore and Vernon Davis as well.

Still, the 'Niners have to stop Rob Gronkowski and company, since Brady is the best in the game at pre-snap reads and making adjustment on the fly. Not to mention, New England also has a lot of draft picks to play with.

Baltimore Ravens vs. Philadelphia Eagles

This would be quite an interesting matchup, as both are balanced offensively and have impressive defenses.

Baltimore's offense revolves around Ray Rice, and Philadelphia's main ingredient is LeSean McCoy.

It also pits two quarterbacks with much to prove in the postseason, and defenses that were vulnerable against the run last season. Here, expect a lot of blitzing from both sides, as the coverage is stout enough to blanket the receivers one-on-one.

The key will be for both team's tight ends—Ed Dickson, a Raven, and the Eagles' Brent Celek—to get yards after the catch. Both front sevens will be focused on limiting the ground game to force the pass and get a lot of pressure from all over.

As for actually defending the pass, the Eagles and Ravens were susceptible over-the-middle in 2011, and the pass-blocking of each running back will be vitally important to providing a safer pocket.

It would be much more low-scoring than anticipated, but not a sloppy performance, as each team has playmakers on both sides of the ball.

Green Bay Packers vs. Houston Texans

Ah, the classic battle of the dominant offense versus the suffocating defense.

Green Bay can move the ball all over and Aaron Rodgers is as good  as anyone at spreading the field to keep a defense honest.

Houston, on the other hand, has arguably the NFL's best defense and has the ability to slow down even the most explosive offenses without having to get constant quarterback pressure.

It's basically a wash when the Packers' offense takes the field—which brings us to the Texans' offense versus the Packers' defense.

Last season Green Bay fielded the league's worst defense but did force a lot of turnovers. Houston, however, dealt with a lot of injuries, and turnovers cost them in the postseason. Expect the Packers to improve their defense via the draft, and Houston will do the same with their offense.

Provided the Packers can get more quarterback pressure and the Texans remain healthy, this would be one sick matchup.

It would certainly be a higher scoring affair than anticipated, as Houston allowed more than 23 points on four different occasions.

The key to this game will be the Green Bay rush defense against the Houston rush offense, as the Packers allowed 4.7 yards per carry in 2011, and Arian Foster was the Texans' offensive strength last season.

Denver Broncos vs. Carolina Panthers

Arguably the most unrealistic of the games mentioned here, but nonetheless, still quite possible.

Carolina has an impressive offense that's balanced and goes as Cam Newton goes. The versatile dual-threat quarterback is a threat in the pocket, out of the pocket and on the run.

Denver will need to keep the pressure coming with Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil while the secondary mixes up zone and man coverage schemes.

In the draft, Denver will need to upgrade their interior defensive line to apply inside pressure and to stop the run. The Panthers are quite dynamic and are a lot faster than given credit for.

Defensively the Panthers can make strides in 2012 with a healthy Jon Beason and the continued production of Charles Johnson. Adding to the defense in the draft is also needed, with Peyton Manning now residing in the Mile High City.

The Broncos already have a sound running game, so Carolina must get pressure on Manning and use press coverage to force long developing plays. Each running game will be the key, as the defenses will be aggressive all game long.

In short, setting up the play-action pass to go deep will be the difference.

John Rozum on Twitter.