Super Sunday Ready for Super Sequel

With the NFL season reaching it's climatic finish in Indianapolis, legacies are on the line in the rematch we've all been dying to see.

New York Giants v. New England Patriots:
It was more than four year ago the New York Giants stormed into Glendale, Arizona as 12-point underdogs only to defeat the New England Patriots in arguably the greatest upset in Super Bowl history, 17-14.

Sunday they are hoping for much of the same. But the road to get here was anything, but easy.

The Giants' pass rush will hold the key to
stop Tom Brady in Super Bowl XLVI.

The Giants finished the regular season 9-7, capturing their eighth NFC East Division title. They played back-to-back must-win games in weeks 16 and 17 against the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys to even get into the postseason after a 6-2 start.

They are only the third 9-win team to get to the Super Bowl. The previous two both lost, the Los Angeles Rams (1979) and the Arizona Cardinals (2008).

Since that time, New York has reeled off three consecutive postseason wins, beating the Atlanta Falcons in the Big Apple and upsetting the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers away from home, furthering their reputation as road warriors.

Commanding that ship, just like in 2007, is quarterback Eli Manning.

The 31-year-old signal caller was asked at the start of the season if he was in fact an elite quarterback. But even when the doubters questioned his yes response, he did his best to prove them wrong and has his team one win away from football's ultimate prize.

Just like in Super Bowl XLII, Manning threw a record 15 fourth quarter touchdown passes during the year and led multiple game-winning drives and comebacks.

As for his coach, Tom Coughlin now has seven postseason road wins, tying him for the most all-time. His team is 6-1 in their last seven games and have continued to live by his "humble enough to prepare, confident enough to perform" modo throughout. He has helped the franchise improve to 5-0 in conference championship games with the hope of adding their fourth Super Bowl.

Coughin, 65, could become the oldest winning Super Bowl head coach in history with a win Sunday.

On the other side, New England may be favored in Vegas, but it seems they are back to the underdog role -- a role that saw them win the franchise's only three Super Bowls in a four-year span at the turn of the century.

The Patriots are 3-3 in their six previous Super Bowl appearances with the last one a forever haunting nightmare.

Brady is now 16-5 in 21 career postseason games, tying Hall of Famer and his boyhood idol, Joe Montana, for the most wins all-time. This is Brady's fifth Super Bowl appearance, tying another Hall of Famer, John Elway, for the most ever.

If Brady is able to win his fourth career Lombardi Trophy, he join Montana and Terry Bradshaw as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to do so. Montana holds the record for most Super Bowl Most Valuable Player awards with three, and passing touchdowns with 11. Comparing those to Brady's two Super Bowl MVPs and seven passing touchdowns, the record books could be rewritten Sunday night in Indy.

He is also just 155 yards from breaking Kurt Warner's career record (1,156) for the most passing yards in the Super Bowl. Warner holds the records for the first (414), second (377) and third (365) most passing yards in a single Super Bowl.

It will be the fifth time Brady and head coach Bill Belichick have appeared in a Super Bowl together which is the most of a quarterback-head coaching duo.

With a win Sunday, Belichick will tie the legendary Chuck Noll for the most Super Bowl wins as a head coach. And history is one his side.

When Belichick, who spent most of his career as a defensive assistant or coordinator prior to becoming a head coach, has had an extra week to prepare for an opponent whether it's in the regular season or postseason, more times than not he comes out on top. His offense averages 25.3 points per game without the extra rest compared to 26.0 PPG with it.

But it has been his defense that truly has excelled.

Belichick's defense has surrendered 20.4 PPG on a week-to-week basis, but with his ability to scheme another week, the defense becomes stingy, allowing just 14.8 PPG.

His .739 winning percentage in the postseason is second to only Vince Lombardi's .900 and it's been his unique style of coaching and willingness to take on players that nobody else wanted that has made him one of the greatest to ever don the sidelines.

This season alone Belichick has 18 undrafted free agents on this AFC champion team, 11 of them coming on defense. A defense that has seen them rank last in numerous major categories and have 16 different players take snaps in their secondary.

Unlike the AFC Championship game,
Chad Ochocinco looks to be active
for the biggest game of his life.

These two teams have met 10 lifetimes meetings with record all even at five wins apiece. However, each of the last two times they have met, the Giants have come out on top, including their improbable Super Bowl XLII victory and most recently in Week 9 of this season.

New York went into Foxborough and Manning rallied them to one of the team's many fourth quarter comebacks this season, 24-20. Tight end Jake Ballard caught the game's go-ahead touchdown and could play a major role once again. The Giants were without wideout Hakeem Nicks and running back Ahmad Bradshaw in that win, both whom have played a major role in the team's recent postseason success.

That was the last time the Patriots lost this season, reeling off 10 straight victories since. But the loss ended New England's 20-game home winning streak and Brady's 31-game home streak -- streaks the Giants are now notorious for breaking.

Most notably breaking New England's 18-game winning streak in the Super Bowl, spoiling their bid a perfection. They are now posed with the task of breaking yet another Patriots' winning streak.

For the quarterbacks, Brady and Manning will meet in the Super Bowl the second time, a feat that has only been accomplished two other times. Bradshaw and Roger Staubach met in Super Bowl X and Super Bowl XIII, both won by Bradshaw's Pittsburgh Steelers.

The only other Super Bowl quarterback rematch also contained another Hall of Fame Cowboy quarterback, but this time he was on the other side of the fence. Troy Aikman led Dallas to two consecutive Super Bowl victories over the Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly as a part of Buffalo's four straight Super Bowl losses.

History is on Manning's side.

Prior to their Super Bowl XLII matchup, the Giants lost to the Patriots in Week 17. The loss catapulted New York's season capped by their third championship. But with New England's Week 9 loss to the Giants this season could be a sign of role reversal.

There's 15 players remaining on the Giants' roster that played in their previous Super Bowl meeting, and only seven on the Patriots, so it's safe to say revenge is not a factor.

Or is it?

NYG X-Factor: Giants' Pass Rush


NE X-Factor: Chad Ochocinco


Super Bowl XLVI MVP: Wes Welker


New England, 31-27

Rushing Into The Record Books

Vick's athletic ability gives the Eagles
hope moving forward. 

While the Philadelphia Eagles continue to flounder in their own mistakes, quarterback Michael Vick rushed himself right into the record books.

Down 28-7 early in the third quarter, Vick found his team on their own 37-yard line with a fresh set of downs after a 14-yard completion. Vick called a play-action pass and when nothing was open down field, he reverted to the tool that has made him one of the most dynamic players in NFL history, his legs.

Vick scrambled all the way to the Buffalo 10-yard line for a 53-yard gain, making him the NFL's all-time leading rusher among quarterbacks.

Randall Cunningham, who spent his first eleven seasons under center with Philadelphia, was the previous record holder with 4,928 career rushing yards as a quarterback.

Vick finished the game with only five carries going for 90 yards on the ground, increasing his career total to 4,948. Only 31, the south paw has a chance to make his record untouchable especially after signing a six-year $100 million contract extension this past August.

He most certainly would have accomplished this feat sooner if had not miss two full seasons in the prime of his career due to imprisonment.

The former Virginia Tech Hokie now has now rushed for 318 yards in five games this season.

With his most recent milestone, there is no question Vick is the most prolific rushing quarterback in NFL history as he now holds almost every QB rushing record in NFL history. In a thrilling overtime game against the Minnesota Vikings on Dec. 1, 2002, a then-member of the Atlanta Falcons, Vick set the single-game rushing record for a quarterback after scampering for 173 yards, including a game-winning 46-yard touchdown run in the extra period.

In what would be his final season as a Falcon, Vick ran for 1,039 yards in 2006, setting the single-season rushing record for a QB. To top it off, his 32 career rushing touchdowns are only 12 behind Otto Graham's QB record of 44.

As much as Vick relishes his individual accolades, football is a team sport and he and his Eagles are struggling mightily. Philadelphia is now 1-4 on the season after a Sunday's deflating 31-24 loss to the surprisingly surging 4-1 Buffalo Bills.

Vick threw a career-high four interceptions, putting his season total at seven, giving him a share of the league lead with a pair of AFC West opponents, San Diego's Phillip Rivers and Denver's Kyle Orton. Vick's 4.1 interception percentage trails only Orton's 4.5 in 2011.

To go along with those seven interceptions, the 10-year veteran has coughed up the football three times, giving him 10 total turnovers on the year which is one more than Vick had all of last season. He also has turned the ball over at least once in each of his last 12 games and thrown 14 interceptions in his last 11.

Andy Reid, right in now on the hot seat
in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia has now lost four games in a row for the first time since 2005 and are off the their worst start since head coach Andy Reid's first year in 1999. Thats year the team finished 5-11 and last-place in their division.

With the sluggish start for the once self-proclaimed "Dream Team", many Eagle fans are calling for Reid's head, but it has been the ineffectiveness of his defense and newly promoted defensive coordinator Juan Castillo that have not lived up to expectations.

Castillo had been the offensive line coach since 1998 before taking over the defensive duties this offseason after the firing of Sean McDermott. While the Eagles rank 1st in the NFL averaging 165.6 rushing yards per game their defense has allowed almost the same. The Philly defense ranks 30th in the league allowing their opponents to average 140.2 rushing yards per game against them.

There's just no replacement for a legend like the late Jim Johnson.

After allowing 143 yards on the ground, Philadelphia's defense had a chance at redemption and give Vick and his offense one last attempt at a comeback, but they fell short. With Buffalo faced with a fourth-and-1 and 1:23 left in the fourth quarter, Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick drew 11-year veteran Juqua Parker offsides, sealing Buffalo's fourth win of the season and pushing the Eagles further down in the NFC East cellar.

Vick will continue to run his way into the record books next Sunday when they visit their division rival and first-place Washington Redskins.