Sports

Five Things You Need to Know About the Super Bowl

The Giants and the Patriots are playing in the Super Bowl for the second time in five years.

1.     Super Bowl XLVI will be played tonight in Indianapolis, and although the Colts won’t be there, a Manning will be. If Eli Manning and the New York Giants win, he passes his brother Peyton in Super Bowl wins and ties Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for the most Super Bowl victories among active quarterbacks at two.

2.     Of course, Tom Brady is at the top of the list of active Super Bowl winning QBs, with three victories. If he wins on Sunday, he ties 49ers quarterback Joe Montana and Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw at the top of the list of Super Bowl winning quarterbacks, all time.

3.     The Patriots are 3-3 in the Super Bowl, all-time. Following the 1985 season, the Patriots lost to the 15-1 Bears, and following the 1996 season, they lost to a Packers team led by Brett Favre, who won his first Super Bowl that day. New England then won in their next three appearances, defeating the Rams following the 1999 season, the Panthers following the 2003 season and the Eagles after the 2004 campaign. In their last appearance, following the 2007 season, the Patriots were defeated by the Giants. Had New England won that game, it would’ve become the second team in NFL history to complete an undefeated season and win the Super Bowl.

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4.     The Giants are 3-1 all-time in the Super Bowl. Following the 1986 season, the Giants downed the Broncos in the Super Bowl. Current Patriots coach Bill Belichick was the Giants’ defensive coordinator that year. Belichick was still the defensive coordinator in 1990, when the Giants beat the Bills by one point in the Super Bowl on a missed field goal by Buffalo’s Scott Norwood. The Giants next appearance was their lone Super Bowl loss, to the Baltimore Ravens after the 2000 season. Kerry Collins was the quarterback for that Giants team, and Collins finished his NFL career this year in Indianapolis. Eli Manning earned his first Super Bowl win following the 2007 season when the Giants ruined the Patriots’ attempt at perfection in Super Bowl XLII.

5.     Rematches in Super Bowls are not unusual. The Steelers and the Cowboys have played Super Bowls against each other, with the Steelers winning following the 1974 and 1978 seasons, and the Steelers winning following the 1995 season; after losing to the Dolphins following the 1972 season, the Redskins beat Miami following the 1982 season; the 49ers defeated the Bengals following the 1981 and 1988 seasons; and the Cowboys defeated the Bills in back-to-back Super Bowls, following the 1992 and 1993 seasons.

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