INDIANAPOLIS -- It all comes down to this.
Sixty minutes.
Four quarters.
One game to become an NFL champion.
On Sunday evening, the New England Patriots and New York Giants meet in Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis.
The two teams met earlier this season and the Giants earned a 24-20 road win over the Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Nov. 6, 2011.
Quarterback Eli Manning tossed two fourth-quarter touchdowns, a 10-yarder to wide receiver Mario Manningham and the game-winner, a one-yard effort to tight end Jake Ballard. Overall, Manning was 20 of 39 for 250 yards and two touchdowns against one interception. Wide receiver Victor Cruz caught a team-high six passes for 91 yards, while running back Brandon Jacobs scored one touchdown and gained 72 yards on 18 carries.
Brady was 28 of 49 for 342 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, while wide receiver Wes Welker (nine catches, 136 yards) and tight end Rob Gronkowski (eight, 101, one touchdown) both eclipsed the 100-yard mark.
The Giants own a 1-0 record over the Patriots in postseason play. Manning led a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter of New York’s 17-14 win in Super Bowl XLII at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
As this year’s Super Bowl unfolds, here are several players to keep an eye on:
--In leading the Patriots to a 13-3 mark and the No. 1 seed in the AFC, Tom Brady completed 401 of 611 attempts for 5,235 yards and 39 touchdowns against 12 interceptions this season.
Currently in his 12th NFL season, Brady has completed 3,397 of 5,321 attempts for 39,979 yards and 300 touchdowns against 115 interceptions.
Brady has completed 48 of 70 attempts for 602 yards and six touchdowns against three interceptions in two postseason wins this year. However, most of the success came in New England’s win over the Denver Broncos. Brady completed 26 of 34 attempts for 363 yards and six touchdowns against an interception in the win over the Broncos and was not sacked, but the Patriots offense was minus-one in the turnover battle.
--Rob Gronkowski suffered an ankle injury in the AFC Championship game win over the Baltimore Ravens and had not practiced with the team since suffering the sprain until Thursday afternoon. Gronkowski leads the Patriots with 15 receptions for 232 yards and three touchdowns this postseason.
Gronkowski had a record-setting regular season for the Patriots, one in which he caught 90 passes for 1,327 yards and 17 touchdowns. The 1,327 yards, 17 touchdown catches and 18 total touchdowns are the most by any tight end in NFL history.
--Wes Welker set career highs with 1,569 yards and nine touchdowns on 122 catches. He and Brady combined on an NFL record-tying 99-yard touchdown pass earlier this season.
Welker has 12 catches for 108 yards with one touchdown in the 2011 postseason.
--Eli Manning has taken the success he had in the regular season and brought it with him in three postseason wins. Manning has completed 76 of 123 attempts for 923 yards with eight touchdowns against one interception in the playoffs, including a fourth-quarter scoring pass to Manningham from 17 yards away in the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Earlier in the postseason, Manning completed 21 of 33 attempts for 330 yards and three touchdowns with one interception in a win over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. He completed passes to six different players in the win over the reigning Super Bowl champions.
One week earlier, he threw for 277 yards and three touchdowns without an interception in New York’s 24-2 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
Manning entered the playoffs after finishing one of his best NFL seasons. He completed 359 of 589 attempts for 4,933 yards and 29 touchdowns against 16 interceptions. Despite being sacked 28 times for 199 lost yards, Manning completed 61 percent of his passes and was the only Giants quarterback to attempt a throw this season.
--Wide receivers Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks were two of Manning’s key receivers during the regular season. Cruz finished as the Giants’ leader in all major receiving categories, 82 catches for 1,536 yards, 18.7 yards-per-reception and nine touchdowns. Nicks caught 76 passes for 1,192 yards and seven touchdowns.
In three playoff games this season, Nicks has gained 335 yards and caught four touchdowns from Manning.
--The Giants’ defensive line. Jason Pierre-Paul was held without a sack against Atlanta and Green Bay, but during the regular season, he collected 16.5 of the Giants’ 48 sacks. He totaled 86 tackles, the third-most on the team.
Osi Umenyiora has a team-best 3.5 sacks through three games, including two sacks against Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the Divisional round of the NFC playoffs.
The Giants enter Sunday’s game following their 20-17 overtime win over the 49ers two weeks ago at Candlestick Park. The Patriots defeated the Ravens 23-20 at Gillette Stadium when Billy Cundiff missed a potential game-tying field goal in the waning seconds of the AFC Championship game.
CONNECTIONS
Patriots/New England
Patriots coach Bill Belichick compiled a 36-44 record as head coach of the Browns from 1991 to 1995. He took the Browns to the playoffs in 1994, just four seasons removed from a 3-13 finish under Bud Carson and Jim Shofner.
Special teams coach Scott O’Brien served in the same capacity with the Browns from 1991-95.
Patriots defensive line coach Thomas “Pepper” Johnson played with the Browns from 1993 to 1995, amassing 5.5 quarterback sacks and two interceptions during his time in Cleveland.
Tight ends 
Patriots defensive lineman Gerard Warren played with the Browns from 2001-2004. Defensive back Bret Lockett, now on New England's injured reserve list, was on the Browns’ 2009 training camp roster.
Offensive assistant coach Josh McDaniels (Barberton/John Carroll University), quarterback Brian Hoyer (Cleveland/St. Ignatius High School), cornerback Antwaun Molden (Cleveland/Glenville High School), offensive lineman Matt Light (Greenville) and punter Zoltan Mesko (Twinsburg) are Ohio natives.
Wide receiver Julian Edelman played quarterback for Kent State University.
Patriots practice squad defensive back Ross Ventrone is the younger brother of Browns DB
Giants/New York
Linebacker coach Bill Davis held the same position with the Giants in 2004.
Punter
Defensive back
Giants quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan coached at Youngstown State (1997-98) and Ohio University (2001). In 1997, Sullivan was a part of Youngstown State’s Division I-AA national championship team.
Giants tight end Jake Ballard and offensive lineman Jim Cordle went to Ohio State, while linebacker Chase Blackburn and wide receiver Domenik Hixon are University of Akron products. Practice squad tight end Christian Hopkins went to The University of Toledo.
Linebacker Greg Jones (Cincinnati/Archbishop Moeller), tackle Ikechuku Ndukwe (Dublin/Coffman High School), Manningham (Warren/Harding High School), Blackburn (Bellefontaine), Hixon (Columbus/Whitehall-Yearling High School), Cordle (Lancaster) and Ballard (Springboro) are Ohio natives.
MEDIA
Fans can watch Sunday’s game at 6:30pm ET on local NBC affiliate WKYC-TV 3. Al Michaels (play-by-play) and Cris Collinsworth (color analyst) will broadcast the game.
