Super Bowl 46: Who's Gonna Win?

The New England Patriots play the New York Giants in Super Bowl 46 on Sunday in Indianapolis.

This will be an epic rematch of Super Bowl 42 in which the New York Giants defeated the undefeated New England Patriots 17-14 on an astonishing fourth quarter comeback driven by Eli Manning's outstanding play to David Tyree and capped off by a game winning touchdown to Plaxico Burress.

You can once again expect a close and hard fought game. Earlier this season, on Nov. 6, the Giants won at New England, 24-20. This gives the Giants two wins in the last two meetings between the two teams, raising the question “Will the Giants win again?”

The New England Patriots go into Sundays game 15-3 counting the playoffs giving them a 10- game winning streak since their loss to the Giants earlier this season. Having won three Super Bowls under Bill Belichick, the New England Patriots aim to win their fourth Super Bowl of the Belichick era.

There are a few things to watch from the Patriots in this upcoming game, the first starts with Tom Brady. Tom Brady is coming off another remarkable season of throwing 5,235 passing yards along with 39 TD's and joining Drew Brees in surpassing the single season passing yard mark once set by the great Dan Marino himself. Tom Brady is an electric quarterback and must be pressured in order to keep this powerful offense from scoring.

Another key player to watch that could make a huge impact in the outcome of this game is tight end Rob Gronkowski. Rob Gronkowski is an almost unstoppable force tallying 90 receptions for 1,327 yards and 17 touchdowns. Rob Gronkowski not only has established himself as one of the best tight ends in the game but has also become the center piece of a Patriots offense that is centered around a tight end tandem that consists of himself and Aaron Hernandez.

Rob Gronkowski suffered a high ankle sprain in a 23-20 AFC championship win over the Baltimore Ravens. Rob states that he will indeed play on Sunday, but the injury has some people questioning just how effective he could be. If Rob is unable to play at 100 percent and is unable to run his routes effectively this will take away a huge piece of the New England Patriots offense.

Lastly, another player that could have a big impact in Sundays game is Patriots running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis. BenJarvus Green-Ellis is coming off a great season setting an incredible record of going another full season of not fumbling the football.

This is Green-Ellis's fourth season in the NFL and he has yet to fumble the football even once in his career. This is a very impressive stat and only shows that this man will not be turning the ball over in Sundays game.

Do not count out the Giants however. The Giants are 12-7 including their three playoff wins entering the Super Bowl. They have played tremendous the last few weeks knocking out favorites, the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers.

Some key players that will play a huge roll in the Giants success on Sunday starts with quarterback Eli Manning. Eli Manning has been playing the best football of his career in 2011 orchestrating FIVE fourth-quarter comebacks throughout this season. Eli has really broken out and has established himself as one of the elite quarterbacks of the game. The Giants will really need him to play his best football and complete passes and do what he did all season converting third downs.

Another key player will be Brandon Jacobs. Brandon Jacobs hasn't really shown too much explosiveness this season but if he could pound the Patriots defense and wear them out like he has done in the past then look for the Giants to have tons of success.

We also can not forget the key men that make up a fearsome Giants defense. Look for a Giants defense led by defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck to really apply pressure and get to Tom Brady.

If the Giants are successful in this category then you can add another ring to the Giants fingers. My prediction is Giants 27-Patriots 23. I would like to hear more opinions from the rest of you so feel free to comment and share your predictions below.

Justin Baker