Eli Manning and the Giants would have been the Patriots' nightmare opponent in Super Bowl LI.
That's how it felt when Big Blue won 11 games and made the playoffs, given Manning's history of toppling mighty New England twice in Giants Super Bowl victories after the 2007 and 2011 seasons.
Manning was named Super Bowl MVP in both for his pair of game-winning drives. His late throws to David Tyree and Plaxico Burress in Super Bowl XLII — and his pivotal shot down the left sideline to Mario Manningham in Super Bowl XLVI — etched No. 10 in stone as a clutch winner.
It also gave Manning the reputation as the kryptonite to Tom Brady's and Bill Belichick's annual Super plans.
But the Atlanta Falcons are not just going to beat the Patriots on the strength of Matt Ryan's arm, just as the Giants didn't win on Manning's back alone.
The Falcons are going to need what Manning had: A pass rush that made Brady's day miserable. And Dan Quinn's defense might just have the talent and game plan to follow in Big Blue's footsteps.
"The D Line has to be the MVPs for Atlanta to have a chance," Giant great Justin Tuck tweeted Sunday after the Falcons-Patriots matchup was set. "For all the Falcon fans on my timeline asking me the key to success against Brady … 4 man rush has to hit him early and often."
Ryan Clark, the former Pittsburgh Steelers safety and current ESPN analyst, made the same point on Mike & Mike on ESPN Radio Tuesday morning.
"If you look at the teams that succeed against the New England Patriots' (offense), they can play man-to-man press (coverage) in the back end and they can rush the passer with four," Clark said. "Which is why when everyone talks about Eli Manning being like the New England Patriots' Super Bowl kryptonite, it wasn't Eli Manning; it was that front four rush and cornerbacks who can play man-to-man and disrupt routes."
Don't misconstrue the point here, either: The Falcons don't have the Giants' one-time Tuck, Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora trifecta up front. The Falcons are young with seven starters in either their rookie or second seasons, and Atlanta's D struggled this season.
The Falcons finished 27th of 32 teams in points allowed per game (25.4), 25th in average yards surrendered (371.2) and 27th in Football Outsiders' more comprehensive efficiency ranking known as DVOA.
That said, though, if beating the Patriots starts with hitting Brady and getting him off his spot, Atlanta has to like its chances.
The Falcons hit Aaron Rodgers eight times in their NFC championship blowout victory over the Green Bay Packers and sacked him twice. True, the Packers are a one-dimensional passing offense that fell behind big, so there were plenty of opportunities to chase the quarterback. Atlanta's speed and scheme had a major impact on Rodgers' comfort in the pocket early on, too.
Start with Vic Beasley, the second-year pro out of Clemson. The listed outside linebacker, most frequently lined up as the left-side defensive end, led the NFL in sacks with 15.5 this regular season. He is part of a front that has shown an ability to get to the QB without blitzing.
Defensive tackle Ra'Shede Hageman, for example, manhandled Packers center Corey Linsley and tripped up Rodgers for an 11-yard sack just before the two-minute warning of Sunday's first half on what was basically a three-man rush with a late linebacker spy rusher.
In the fourth quarter, defensive end Tyson Jackson recorded an eight-yard sack as a product of linebacker Brooks Reed stepping down onto the line and torching Green Bay right tackle Bryan Bulaga around the edge, flushing Rodgers forward.
Then there are Quinn's cornerback blitzes, which saw rookie Brian Poole (Florida) nearly kill Rodgers on a free edge blitz once late in the second half — if you haven't seen the play, you live under a rock.
Poole also got free to Rodgers later for a hit, and the quarterback just narrowly ducked to reduce the impact.
Quinn also sends rookie linebacker Deion Jones (LSU), which speaks not just to the variety of personnel the coach employs on defense, but how unpredictably he does so. The Falcons' defense is constantly disguising its line of scrimmage and pressures.
On the play that Jackson sacked Rodgers in the fourth quarter, for example, nine of the Falcons' 11 defenders were on the line of scrimmage just prior to the snap. Five Falcons rushed the quarterback on that play, but sometimes it's only four, other times it's three and a spy, others it's just three or four on the inside but a corner suddenly flies free into the backfield from the outside.
This element of the Falcons' game plan, therefore, is the wild card of this Super Bowl.
Quinn, in his second year as Atlanta's head coach, will be coaching in his third Super Bowl in the last four years, having coordinated the Seattle Seahawks' defense to one victory over the Denver Broncos and one agonizing loss to Brady's Patriots.
Quinn's Falcon defense is far from those intimidating Seahawk units, and it sure benefits from Ryan's offense scoring so many points that it doesn't shoulder the pressure of shutting any opponent down.
Strong quarterback play, for sure, but first and foremost, a way to disrupt No. 12 on the Patriots.