Before you go and declare the New England Patriots Super Bowl Champions, let me run through a few reasons why I think that the New York Giants could pull off the upset.
I will begin with Eli Manning. Manning was a star in the National Football League before he was even drafted. Living under the shadow of one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL right now, his big brother Peyton Manning, certainly has its downfalls.
For instance, since Eli’s rookie season, he has been scrutinized harder than any other quarterback. The fact that he had such high expectations after being drafted number one overall, coupled with the reputation that goes along with his last name, was a lot of pressure for a quarterback who plays in New York.
After his brother Peyton won a Super Bowl with the Colts last year, Eli could take this opportunity to prove that he is not just the little brother of Peyton and the son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, but that he is just as good as anyone else in his family.
Eli has played well enough to lead the Giants to the Super Bowl but it will take a championship and a Super Bowl MVP to match what his brother did last year.
The question is, which Super Bowl quarterback wants it more? Eli is playing for respect from the sports world and independence from living in his brother’s shadow.
Next, I want to stress the importance of the Giants playing the Patriots tough the last game of the season. Although the Patriots won 38-35, this game helped the Giants as well.
That game was played during a point in the season when the Patriots were looking to finish an undefeated regular season and the Giants were looking to improve their playoff seed. Despite the fact that Tom Brady played well under all the pressure of going 16-0 and attempting the regular season touchdown record, the Giants still only lost by 3.
This gives the Giants confidence going into the Super Bowl knowing that even when the Patriots play well with records on the line they can still hang with them.
This works against the Patriot, since there was only one other time this year that they won by 3 points. If the Giants play as well as they did against the Patriots the last week of the year, then the Patriots will have their hands full on Sunday.
I also question Tom Brady’s health, as he was recently seen with a boot on his foot. The Patriots have came out and called it a mild high-ankle sprain, while Brady said that it is nothing serious, and that he is close to 100 percent physically.
However, we do not know what is really going on. Most likely, it is not a big deal. It will be a hot topic for discussion during the game, but if Brady doesn’t appear 100 percent healthy, or is seen limping, then it will probably be accredited to his ankle problem.
One thing that the Giants have done well all year is win games on the road. The only game they have lost on the road all year was the season opener at Dallas.
After that game, they won their next 10 games on the road, including their three post-season wins. The Super Bowl is in Scottsdale, Ariz., on a neutral field. While this should give the team confidence as they prepare to play New England, the Giants are still away from home and are technically the visiting team.
In the end, I think that the Patriots are just too good of a team to let their perfect regular season to go a waste. They will beat the Giants by about two touchdowns and cement their position as not only the best football team ever but validate their standing as a dynasty this decade.
Max Vosburgh is a freshman in the John Cook School of Business.
