Manning set new career highs in nearly every statistical category in 2011, throwing for a franchise record 4,933 yards and 29 touchdowns, with 16 interceptions, giving him a 92.9 passer rating.

Defensive backs Kenny Phillips and Aaron Ross added four interceptions each, while safety Antrel Rolle picked off two passes and led the team in combined tackles with 96.

They have won six consecutive playoff games away from their home stadium, dating back to their victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2007 Wild Card round.

Receivers Chad Ochocinco, Tiquan Underwood, Julian Edelman, and Matthew Slater made minor contributions to the passing attack; the latter two also served as emergency defensive backs.

Also helping out on NBC's broadcast were reporters Alex Flanagan, Liam McHugh, and Randy Moss and NFL insiders Mike Florio and Peter King.

All commercials for the game sold out by Thanksgiving 2011, at an average price of $3.5 million per thirty-second ad, by far the highest rate for Super Bowl advertising in the event's history.

[45] Anti-abortion activist Randall Terry has said he was planning to run an advertisement featuring graphic photos of aborted fetuses during Super Bowl XLVI.

[46] Terry was not allowed to air the ad nationwide, given that the networks have a policy under equal time rules to reject all political and issue related advertising during the Super Bowl.

[47] He was able, however, under the then-current Federal Election Commission "reasonable access" rules, to force up to 35 local stations (those located in states in which the Democratic Party primaries are within 45 days of Super Bowl Sunday; Terry entered the primary as a dummy candidate primarily for the purpose of this advertisement) to run the advertisement uncensored, regardless of whether it meets Standards and Practices or Federal Communications Commission guidelines.

that led to a massive sales spike; and one for Cadillac), Toyota, Hyundai, Acura (featuring Jerry Seinfeld in an ad for the NSX),[51] Kia Motors (advertising the Optima with a spot starring Adriana Lima), Audi (parodying the Twilight series with an ad for the S7), Honda (starring Matthew Broderick in a reprisal of the lead role in Ferris Bueller's Day Off), newcomers Dannon Yogurt and Century 21 Real Estate,[44] Teleflora, Mars, Incorporated (introducing the M&M's brown spokescandy), The Coca-Cola Company, CareerBuilder.com (reprising their chimp advertisement campaign), Cars.com, Skechers, Relativity Media (running four advertisements for Act of Valor),[52] Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures, and Universal Pictures.

Disney's ad for its upcoming John Carter was seen as exacerbating concerns about the expensive tentpole film's marketing that had been raised by its teaser the preceding August.

"[56] An executive at a competing studio said the trailer strongly reinforced concerns that the film had experienced serious production problems that adversely affected its quality and box-office prospects.

[63] Matthew Broderick reprised his Ferris Bueller's Day Off role in a Honda commercial aired during this Super Bowl which featured the Oh Yeah song.

[68] NFL International televised the game to viewers outside of North America, with Kenny Albert and Joe Theismann calling the English language feed.

[75][76] As part of "Operation Fake Sweep", Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, seized and shut down 16 websites that had provided access to pirated Internet television feeds of NFL games on February 2, in an action similar to the crackdown they had implemented the previous year.

This was the first Super Bowl broadcast for the Giants not to feature longtime analyst Dick Lynch, who had retired from the team's radio booth following the 2007 season and died in 2008.

[80] It marks the fourth time in the previous five years that an American Idol contestant has performed the national anthem (joining Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson and Jordin Sparks).

The setlist included an Egyptian-themed "Vogue" with costumes by Givenchy,[89] a medley of Madonna's "Music" and LMFAO's two largest hits ("Party Rock Anthem" and "Sexy and I Know It", with the LMFAO singers remaining fully clothed, unlike in the latter song's music video), followed by her then-current single "Give Me All Your Luvin'", excerpts from "Open Your Heart" and "Express Yourself" (in a duet with Green), and the finale, "Like a Prayer", also featuring Green.

Green and Shelton (who sang "America the Beautiful" as part of the pregame show) are both judges on the NBC TV series The Voice, which the network broadcast after the game.

First, defensive end Brandon Deaderick sacked Manning for a 2-yard loss, then running back Ahmad Bradshaw was tackled behind the line of scrimmage on a blitz by cornerback Kyle Arrington.

Brady was flagged for intentional grounding, and since he was in the end zone when he threw the pass, the play resulted in a safety,[93] giving New York an early 2–0 lead.

New York managed to stop the drive at their own 11-yard line, but Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 29-yard field goal to cut New England's deficit to 9–3 early in the second quarter.

The Giants subsequently drove back into scoring range on a drive that utilized several different players, including a 12-yard reception by seldom used tight end Bear Pascoe to reach the New England 9-yard line.

On third down, however, a sack by Anderson and linebacker Rob Ninkovich forced New York to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Tynes, cutting the score to 17–15 with 35 seconds left in the third quarter.

On the second play of the fourth quarter, the game's only turnover occurred when Giants linebacker Chase Blackburn stepped in front of Gronkowski and picked off a deep Brady pass at the New York 8-yard line.

The television footage of the game showed Bill Belichick exhorting his defense to focus on stopping Cruz and Nicks, and to force the Giants to go to secondary options Mario Manningham and Pascoe.

[102][103][104] The intentionally surrendered touchdown gave the Patriots 57 seconds to mount a game-winning drive, and they trailed 21–17 after Giants running back DJ Ware was stopped on the two-point conversion attempt.

Facing heavy pressure in the pocket, Brady eluded defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul and linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka, then threw a 19-yard bullet to wide receiver Deion Branch, who ran out of bounds at the 33-yard line for a first down.

Gronkowski dove with outstretched arms toward the ball but was still a yard away when it hit the ground, giving the Giants their fourth Super Bowl title in franchise history.

A 2010 4th-Round selection, Hernandez's stellar performance in the game would only add to the tragedy when his career was cut short by a self-destructive spiral into crime, resulting in his conviction in 2013 for the murder of Odin Lloyd.