Eli Manning

Reporting from Foxborough, Mass. - What the New England Patriots defense must do to stop the New York Giants in the Super Bowl (Feb. 5, 3:30 p.m. PST, Channel 4): To help counter quarterback Eli Manning, New England needs its mountain in the middle to step up in a big way. Defensive tackle Vince Wilfork is coming off a tremendous game against Baltimore, and his team needs him to have an encore performance in the Super Bowl. Even if they don't sack Manning much, the Patriots want to collapse the pocket and not allow him to get comfortable with his protection.

Reporting from East Rutherford, N.J. — What the New York Giants' offense must do to be successful against the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl (Feb. 5, 3:30 p.m. PST , Channel 4): Eli Manning threw 58 passes in the wind and rain Sunday at San Francisco. There's no reason to think the Giants quarterback will back off that approach against New England, especially in the climate-controlled confines of Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. "We had some decent runs," Manning said of the win over the 49ers, "but we didn't think that was the approach to beat them.

Four seasons ago, the New York Giants drew strength from an inspired but ultimately disappointing 38-35 home loss to the then-undefeated New England Patriots. This season, the Giants drew strength from an inspired but ultimately disappointing 38-35 home loss to the then-undefeated Green Bay Packers. Four seasons ago, the Giants went on a run in the playoffs and earned a trip to the Super Bowl when Lawrence Tynes booted a field goal in overtime in a foul-weather NFC championship game at Green Bay's Lambeau Field.

Reporting from San Francisco -- At one point during his favorite quarter Sunday, Eli Manning's chin strap better resembled an oxygen mask with the way it had been repositioned over his mouth by the punishment of an opposing player. One play earlier, the muddied Manning, working feverishly to pull off his sixth fourth-quarter comeback victory of the season, escaped heavy pressure from three San Francisco 49ers pass rushers and completed a 30-yard pass to Ahmad Bradshaw. Manning absorbed the hit that followed, face-planting onto the soggy Candlestick Park grass.

Reporting from Santa Clara, Calif.   In the last two weeks, Scott Tolzien of the San Francisco 49ers has thrown for more than 10,000 yards. And he's never taken a snap in an NFL game. Tolzien is the third-string quarterback whose job it is to emulate the opposing passer to help prepare the 49ers defense. His assignments in the playoffs so far? He has played the role of New Orleans' Drew Brees and the New York Giants' Eli Manning, who combined for 10,409 yards passing this season.

The forecast for Green Bay on Sunday calls for partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-20s. That's balmy compared to the bitter-cold NFC championship game at Lambeau Field four years ago, when the New York Giants won in overtime, 23-20. Then, the mercury dipped to minus-23 and Eli Manning's stock was on the rise, even though he didn't throw a touchdown pass in that game. "If there was ever a game I thought should've been canceled because of weather that would've been it," Fox's Troy Aikman recalled.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Too much polish, too much poise and too much defensive pressure was way too much for the Atlanta Falcons to overcome Sunday, and the New York Giants broke open a tight contest in the second half on their way to a 24-2 playoff victory at MetLife Stadium. In earning their first postseason win since Super Bowl XLII nearly four years ago and their first at this venue, the Giants earned a trip to Green Bay and will face the Packers in a divisional-round game Sunday.

Far be it for an NFL owner to sully the reputation of his star quarterback. It's just that, in the opinion of Giants co-owner Steve Tisch, quarterback Eli Manning has the poise under pressure of another New York icon: Captain "Sully" Sullenberger, who three years ago successfully ditched US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 people onboard. OK, so Manning isn't saving lives, and Tisch isn't even remotely equating what he has done to the true heroics of Sullenberger.

They are the six shooters of the NFL, the half-dozen hot-handed quarterbacks who have already thrown for more than 4,000 yards this season. They are from all over the country — New Orleans' Drew Brees, New England's Tom Brady, the New York Giants' Eli Manning, Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, Detroit's Matthew Stafford, and San Diego's Philip Rivers — and they're throwing the football all over the map. With two games to go, their numbers could shoot...

Reporting from East Rutherford, N.J. — Eight years with the Giants, and Eli Manning still resists doing anything in a New York minute. The drowsy-eyed quarterback refuses to be hurried through life, instead cruising along at his own speed. Even with all the demands of being a football centerpiece in the nation's biggest market, he's seldom edgy, irritable or even excitable. "He never loses his cool, never gets frustrated," said his backup, David Carr. "It's kind of weird, actually.