The last time the Patriots and Giants met, the expert picks didn't count for much. Yup, New England and New York have not faced each other since the Giants beat the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII (2007), ending New England's unbeaten season.
That Super Bowl will have nothing to do with this matchup on Sunday ... except that you can expect to hear about it A LOT leading up to, during and after the broadcast. Oh, hey -- Peter King has a prediction over at Sports Illustrated:
I still find it so hard to fathom that, in the last game these two teams played, David Tyree's historic Velcro Catch turned out to be the last reception of his career. Has nothing to do with this game, of course; I just thought you'd like to know. Re: Sunday in Foxboro, I like Eli Manning's ability to duel Tom Brady fair and square, but he's down so many receivers that it doesn't seem like enough of a fair fight for the G-Men.
As King mentioned, the Giants are banged up. New York's receivers are dinged up, but so is their primary running back. The Ahmad Bradshaw injury could force the Giants to win this through the air, which has the experts leaning toward New England.
The ESPN.com panel is 6-2 in favor of New England, while the CBSports.com experts are picking New England 4-1.
For more on the matchup, head over to SB Nation's Patriots blog Pats Pulpit and SB Nation's Giants blog, Big Blue View.