NFL Fact or Fiction: New York Giants Will Face Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl

Every NFL fan loves to predict which two teams will meet in the Super Bowl come season's end, and this year the Baltimore Ravens and New York Giants are two of the nation's most popular picks.

The 4-1 Ravens have impressed all season long with their dangerous combination of grind-it-out offense and stout D, while the Giants' dynamic passing attack has the nation buzzing.

They are two of the NFL's best teams, but is it fact or fiction that New York and Baltimore will meet in this year's championship game?

My money is on fiction. Here's why...

On the Sidelines: Baltimore Ravens

Winning football games, and especially playoff games, begins with quality coaching. Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh has led his Ravens to the playoffs in each of his three seasons with the team but he has yet to take the purple and black to a Super Bowl.

Harbaugh's Ravens will have to outlast the best of the best in the AFC if they hope to earn a Super Bowl berth, and that is no easy task. Baltimore has lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers twice in the playoffs over the past three seasons, and they could very well run into them again this year.

Unless they make some serious changes, Harbaugh could be in for yet another premature exit from the playoffs. A trip to Super Bowl XLVI isn't completely out of the question for the Ravens, but it may be a long-shot.

The On-Field Outlook: Baltimore

Sure, their defense is one of the most physically-dominant and experienced units in the game, and their offense is a quick, talented young group, but the Ravens still have some issues to address before they can be considered a top-tier Super Bowl contender.

The first of those issues is their passing attack.

On paper, Joe Flacco should be ecstatic about his receiving corps, but aside from a few rare outbursts Anquan Boldin, Torrey Smith, Lee Evans and the rest of Baltimore's receivers have been relatively quiet all season long.

The On-Field Outlook: Baltimore (Continued)

Aside from their mediocre passing attack, Baltimore also has to worry about the physical toll that playing in the hard-nosed AFC North will have on them throughout the regular season.

As of this week, the top four defenses in the NFL are coincidentally the four teams that make up the AFC North: Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Cleveland. It's a physical, hard-hitting division, and that could hinder Baltimore as they attempt to make a push for the championship.

On the Sidelines: New York Giants

When it comes to the Super Bowl, Giants' head coach Tom Coughlin has been there, done that... once.

Coughlin and his Giants defeated the undefeated New England Patriots squad to win Super Bowl XLII in 2007, but since then New York has made only one playoff appearance. 

In fact, aside from New York's epic 4-0 Super Bowl run in 2007, Coughlin has gone 0-for-3 in the postseason since taking over the Giants in 2004.

This year's team is off to an impressive start but the Giants could very well end up falling short of their Super Bowl goal once again this season.

The On-Field Outlook: New York

New York has long been known for their ferocious defensive play, but that hasn't been the case so far this season.

The Giants D is tied for the NFL lead in sacks with 21, but they also rank 22nd overall in yards allowed per game with 373.5.

Even more concerning, 127.7 of those yards have come on the ground, making them the sixth worst rush defense in the league.

If they're thinking Super Bowl, New York better do something about that suspect defense first.

The On-Field Outlook: New York (Continued)

To this point, the Giants have relied on Eli Manning and their dynamic passing attack to simply outscore opponents but as the season progresses and players become more and more worn down, big-play offense alone won't do the trick in the stacked NFC East.

Even if New York should win their division and find themselves in the playoffs, they will still have to deal with the NFC's juggernauts in Green Bay and New Orleans.

That spells trouble.

Much like Baltimore, New York is a talented bunch, but a Super Bowl this season may be out of the question.