By Michael Kelley ’14 & Mick Kowaleski ’14

Kelley: After finally having to admit that my beloved Steelers will not win their seventh Superbowl title this year, I have now turned my focus to the two teams that have the opportunity to win the grand prize in the NFL, the Lombardi trophy. Will it be the Giants or the Patriots? Coughlin or Belichick? Manning or Brady? It’s a tough call but here is why I think the New England Patriots will be the ones holding up the trophy at the end of the night.

First off, let’s look at the revenge factor. In 2007, the Patriots were 18-0 and were heavy favorites to win theSuperbowl and finish off their undefeated season. But the Giants, led by Eli Manning, pulled off an upset for the ages and beat the Patriots 17-14. The David Tyree helmet catch will always be remembered. For Brady and Belichick, this memory is still extremely painful and it is an open wound that needs patching. New England will do whatever it takes to not lose this game. Not to mention, the Giants already beat the Patriots in Week 9 of the season. Add all that together and you have a very strong revenge factor playing in.

Unfortunately, its time for the Brady-Belichick duo to take home another Lombardi trophy. It’s been seven hard and painful years since they’ve won, most of which were highlighted by Spygate and early playoff exits. Belichick will have a few tricks up his sleeves, especially on how to stop the Giants formidable defensive line. Factor in that he has his defense, led by Vince Wilfork, playing well for the first time all season, this team seems primed to win their 5th Lombardi trophy. Having Brady and two unbelievably talented tight ends on your side does not hurt either. Yes, I know Gronk is hurt, but a less than healthy Gronk is still dangerous, especially in goal line situations. No one is going to deny this Golden Boy-Darth Vader combo another Superbowl title.

Final Score Prediction: 27-24 with Brady leading a last minute drive to set up a Stephen Gostkowski field goal. On 3rd & 5 from their own 44 yard line with 1:15 remaining, Brady will throw a 32 yard pass downfield to Julian Edelman, the fourth string receiver, who will catch it on his helmet, forever revenging the Tyree catch.

Kowaleski: I’m going to ignore that ridiculously detailed scenario and concentrate on why the Giants will continue to own the Patsies.

Belichick is the only hope the Patriots have going into this game. His propensity for not studying film and not allowing teams to beat him twice is the only thing that gives me pause in not declaring the Giants automatic champions. Why? Let me count the ways:

The Patriots have defeated one (count it, one) winning team on their way to the Super Bowl. During the regular season, they only played two teams who finished with a winning percentage above .500, and lost to both. The teams were the Steelers and (oh goodness, would you look at that) the New York Football Giants.

As for the playoffs, the first team the Patriots defeated after their first round bye, the Denver Broncos, finished the season 8-8 and barely squeaked in as a wild card before upsetting the Steelers. In the AFC Championship Game, the Patriots beat their first winning team in the Baltimore Ravens, but needed an undeniably fluky missed field goal by Billy Cundiff in order to do so. A missed 32-yard field goal is extremely rare in the NFL, and it can be argued that the Patriots were the worse team in the game. So as it stands right now, I don’t like New England’s chances. And I’m not done yet.

The Giants match up well on every side of the ball. Your “Golden Boy” Tom Brady was outplayed last game ,by Joe Flacco no less. His no touchdown, two interception game proves that he is mortal, and in this game he’ll have the Giants’ vaunted defensive line hounding him (2nd in the NFL in sacks during the regular season, and they’ve added six more in the playoffs). Expect Belichick to include a lot of movement pre-snap and run a lot of quick slants in order to create rubs on the interior so Brady can dump it off. The question still remains on whether or not that will be enough—while Brady can make any throw, his proven weakness is a great pass rush (see Super Bowl XLII).

New York quarterback Eli Manning claimed in the preseason that he was an elite quarterback, and has more than proved it in my opinion. He and his excellent trio of wide receivers should feast on a secondary that is not only ranked second to last in the league, but is currently starting a fourth-string wide receiver, Julian Edelman. If Joe “Fu Manchu” Flacco can throw for 306 yards and two TD’s against this defense, I don’t know what Manning and Co. will do to them. Not to mention the fact that the Giants already beat the Patriots with starting wide receiver Hakeem Nicks inactive. With his return, combined with a solid running game headed by Ahmad Bradhshaw, I don’t expect this game to be close.

Giants over the Pats 24-14