A week-by-week look at the Super Bowl contenders' path to the big game:
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How the Patriots got here
Week 1: Patriots 38, Dolphins 24
Tom Brady threw for a Patriots-record 517 yards in the Monday night game. One of his four touchdown passes was a 99-yarder to Wes Welker. Danny Woodhead led rushers with 69 yards.
Week 2: Patriots 35, Chargers 21
Despite a short week, Brady (423) set the record for most passing yards (940) in the first two games of a season. His three TD passes went to tight ends. The Patriots picked off Philip Rivers twice and forced two fumbles.
Week 3: Bills 34, Patriots 31
Rian Lindell kicked a 28-yard field goal as time expired, and the Bills overcame a 21-0 second-quarter deficit. Brady matched a career worst with four interceptions.
Week 4: Patriots 31, Raiders 19
Welker caught nine passes for 158 yards and a score, BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Stevan Ridley added rushing touchdowns, and the Patriots played a mostly mistake-free game.
Week 5: Patriots 30, Jets 21
Green-Ellis rushed for a career-high 136 yards and two touchdowns, and the Patriots' defense allowed a season-low 255 yards. It wasn't locked up until Stephen Gostkowski's 28-yard field goal in the final minute.
Week 6: Patriots 20, Cowboys 16
Brady threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Aaron Hernandez with 22 seconds left. Brady completed eight of nine passes on the winning drive. It's the first time the Pats didn't reach 30 points.
Week 8: Steelers 25, Patriots 17
Pittsburgh beat New England at its own game as Ben Roethlisberger (36 of 50, 365 yards) used short passes to control the clock. Pittsburgh pressured Brady all day and sacked him three times.
Week 9: Giants 24, Patriots 20
Eli Manning capped the winning drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Jake Ballard with 15 seconds left. (Sound familiar?) The Pats, then in a three-way tie atop the AFC East, haven't lost since.
Week 10: Patriots 37, Jets 16
Tight end Rob Gronkowski had eight receptions, two for scores, and Gostkowski kicked three field goals. Andre Carter had a Patriots-record 4½ sacks.
Week 11: Patriots 34, Chiefs 3
The Chiefs' Tyler Palko threw three interceptions in his first career start, with Matt Cassel injured. Gronkowski had two more touchdown catches and Green-Ellis ran for 81 yards for the balanced Pats.
Week 12: Patriots 38, Eagles 20
Wideouts Welker (two touchdowns) and Deion Branch carried the offensive load, and the Patriots' run defense contained LeSean McCoy. New England survived a 400-yard passing day by Eagles backup Vince Young.
Week 13: Patriots 31, Colts 24
Gronkowski had two more touchdown catches and scored on a lateral, but the Patriots needed Branch to recover an onside kick in the final minute to hold off winless Indianapolis.
Week 14: Patriots 34, Redskins 27
Welker, who caught the decisive touchdown pass in the third quarter, became one of three players in NFL history with four 100-catch seasons, joining Jerry Rice and Marvin Harrison.
Week 15: Patriots 41, Broncos 23
Brady threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as the Patriots clinched the AFC East. New England rallied from a 16-7 deficit and shut down Tim Tebow at the end.
Week 16: Patriots 27, Dolphins 24
Trailing 17-0 at halftime, the Patriots scored on their next five possessions. Brady had a pair of 1-yard quarterback sneaks.
Week 17: Patriots 49, Bills 21
Down 21-0 after one quarter, the Patriots intercepted Ryan Fitzpatrick four times. Brady threw three touchdown passes — all to tight ends. Green-Ellis' short TD run early in the fourth quarter sealed it.
Divisional Playoff: Patriots 45, Broncos 10
No slow start this time. Brady threw six touchdown passes, five in the first half, to tie a postseason record. Gronkowski caught three TD passes.
Conference Final: Patriots 23, Ravens 20
Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yard field goal with 11 seconds left. Brady's 1-yard touchdown dive with 11:29 left proved to be the winning points.
— John Rodino
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How the Giants got here
Week 1: Redskins 28, Giants 14
Rex Grossman shined in the season opener, completing 21 of 34 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns. After a score in each of the first two quarters, the Giants managed only 102 yards of offense in the second half.
Week 2: Giants 28, Rams 16
New York bounced back from the week 1 loss by defeating the Rams on Monday Night Football in its home opener. The Giants capitalized on mistakes by the Rams, including a score on a 65-yard fumble return by linebacker Michael Boley.
Week 3: Giants 29, Eagles 16
Eli Manning threw four touchdowns, including two to Victor Cruz in his coming-out party. Michael Vick left in the fourth quarter after suffering a broken hand following a hit from defensive tackle Chris Canty.
Week 4: Giants 31, Cardinals 27
Manning threw two touchdowns — one to Jake Ballard and another to Hakeem Nicks — in a 58-second span late in the game to rally the Giants and stun the Cardinals.
Week 5: Seahawks 36, Giants 25
Cruz's eight catches for 161 yards and a touchdown weren't enough to stop Seattle, led by backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, from generating its own fourth-quarter rally.
Week 6: Giants 27, Bills 24
Ahmad Bradshaw became the first 100-yard rusher of the season for the Giants, running for 104 yards and a career-best three touchdowns.
Week 8: Giants 20, Dolphins 17
New York's running game disappeared again as the Giants rushed for just 58 yards. Manning was spot on though, throwing a touchdown to Cruz late in the game to keep Miami winless.
Week 9: Giants 24, Patriots 20
Manning engineered another fourth-quarter comeback against the Patriots with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Ballard with 15 seconds left in regulation.
Week 10: 49ers 27, Giants 20
With a running game that was still nonexistent, Manning was asked to lead another fourth-quarter comeback. He got the Giants into the red zone, but a fourth-down pass with less than two minutes left was batted down to seal the game.
Week 11: Eagles 17, Giants 10
Backup quarterback Vince Young started his first game of the season and passed for 258 yards and two scores, including a go-ahead touchdown to Riley Cooper to shock the Giants.
Week 12: Saints 49, Giants 24
Everything looked easy in the Big Easy for Drew Brees, who picked the Giants secondary apart by passing for 363 yards and scoring five touchdowns on Monday Night Football.
Week 13: Packers 38, Giants 35
The defense took another beating from an MVP candidate, this time from Aaron Rodgers, who passed for 369 yards and four scores. Rodgers led the Packers 68 yards with less than a minute to play to set up the game-winning field goal.
Week 14: Giants 37, Cowboys 34
New York ended its four-game losing streak after scoring two touchdowns in the final 3:41 and getting a blocked field goal by Jason Pierre-Paul at the end of the game.
Week 15: Redskins 23, Giants 10
It wasn't pretty, but Grossman did enough to lead the Redskins to another victory over the Giants. The Redskins defense picked Manning off three times and didn't allow the Giants to score a touchdown until the final minute.
Week 16: Giants 29, Jets 14
Cruz caught three passes for 164 yards, including a franchise-record 99-yard score. The Giants' defense finally showed up, picking off Mark Sanchez twice and sacking him five times. Bradshaw put the game away by rushing for two touchdowns in the second half.
Week 17: Giants 31, Cowboys 14
Manning threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Giants to the NFC East title. Cruz had a season-high 178 receiving yards in a game that was never really close.
Wild Card Round: Giants 24, Falcons 2
Manning threw for three scores, but the Giants got help from two unlikely sources — defense and the running game. The Giants rushed for 172 yards and the defense kept the Falcon offense scoreless.
Divisional Playoff: Giants 37, Packers 20
Nicks had seven catches for 165 yards and two scores, including a Hail Mary touchdown at the end of the first half. The Giants defense forced four turnovers — three fumbles and an interception — as they shocked top-seeded Green Bay at Lambeau Field.
Conference Final: Giants 20, 49ers 17 (OT)
Kyle Williams may have made the plays of the year for the 49ers. Unfortunately, they resulted in 10 points for the opposing team, including a 31-yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes in overtime.
— Jay St. Pierre
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