Go ahead and laugh but the New York Giants are going to the Super Bowl and remember where you heard it first. The Giants began their 2011 regular season decimated with injuries.  Their running game never got on track and without a doubt they played one of the toughest schedules in the league.  Under those circumstances, most teams would have eventually folded and turned their focus towards hopes of a more favorable season next year.  Yet here the Giants are; 9-7, winners of the NFC East, and ready to once again catch lightning in a bottle as they attempt to make another Super Bowl run.  If the Giants should get hot this postseason and run the table as they did following the 2007 season, in all likelihood after the wild card round they will face the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Divisional round and then either the San Francisco 49ers or the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship.  Can the Giants overcome such opposing forces and get to the big game?  You better believe it, however, first things first.

For New York to move on to the divisional round they have to beat the Atlanta Falcons this weekend.  Taking nothing away from the Falcons as a team, are fans really convinced that Matt Ryan can get Atlanta over the hump and win a playoff game?  He’s got the name Matty Ice for a reason folks.  He freezes in the spotlight.  The Giants will have no problem disposing of the Falcons in the first round.

Then it’s on to the divisional round.  Assuming New Orleans beats the Detroit Lions the Giants would travel to Lambeau Field to take on the defending world champion Green Bay Packers.  Ironically the last time these two teams met in the playoffs was back in 2008 in the NFC Championship game.  Aaron Rodgers was just a backup as Brett Favre was the Packers starting signal caller.  The Giants won that game in overtime 23-20.  Eli Manning and the Giants went on to win the Super Bowl that season against the undefeated New England Patriots. 

Going into a probable Giants-Packers playoff game this postseason, it will have been three weeks since Aaron Rodgers last took a snap at game speed.  Yes, Rodgers is better than good, but mix in a little rust with the January elements in Green Bay and we’ve got ourselves a ball game.  These two teams met back in Week 13 with the Packers prevailing at the end 38-35.  Look for Victor Cruz to have a monster game against that Packers secondary as the Giants get the win and advance to the NFC Championship.

As mentioned previously in the NFC title game the Giants would take on either the 49ers or the Saints dependent upon the outcome of their divisional round head-to-head matchup.  Like with Green Bay, the Giants also faced both the Saints and 49ers during the regular season taking losses against each.  The Giants fell to the Saints 49-24 but Eli Manning threw for over 400 yards against that Saints’ secondary.  In their 27-20 loss to the 49ers, Eli again had success, this time against a stingy defense throwing for over 300 yards.  Look for the Giants renewed ability to pressure opposing quarterbacks from the edge with defensive ends Jason Pierre-Paul and Justin Tuck to allow them to match up well with either the Saints or the 49ers. Eli puts the Giants over the top in either game thus landing the Giants back in the Super Bowl.

Easier said than done right?  How can one be so confident or confused to say that the Giants are going to the Super Bowl given the strength of the opposition?  It’s pretty simple, just look at the Giants’ recent history.  During the 2007 regular season the Giants lost games to the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, and New England Patriots.  When it came time for the playoffs, the only opponent New York played that they hadn’t faced already was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  And just like the Atlanta Falcons this year, the Buccaneers are also from the NFC South.  Not only did the Giants beat the Bucs in 2007, they went on to win playoff games against the Cowboys and the Packers.  Two teams they had previously lost to. The Giants went on to do it one final time against the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.  Unfortunately for the 2011 Giants, unlike the 2007 regular season, they beat the Patriots during the regular season leaving the outcome of Super Bowl 46 up in the air should the Patriots hold court in the AFC.

But think about this.  If Eli wins it all this year he will have done it in Peyton’s house as Super Bowl 46 will be played on February 5th in Indianapolis, at Lucas Oil Stadium.  To win a second Super Bowl would be huge for the younger Manning, but to do it in your brother’s stadium would be epic.

 Aaron Moon is the CEO and a Featured Journalist for The Penalty Flag. An active duty Navy Chief and avid writer, Aaron is a lifelong Bears’ fan who writes about his team from a critics’ point of view. You can contact Aaron on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @DA_Bear_Truth. Contact Aaron directly by emailing him at amoon@thepenaltyflagblog.com.

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