Super Bowl XLVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2011 season. The Giants defeated the Patriots by the score of 21–17. The game was played on February 5, 2012, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the first time that the Super Bowl was played in Indiana.
In addition to winning their fourth Super Bowl in team history, the Giants set a new record for the lowest regular season record (9–7, win percentage of 56.3%) by a Super Bowl champion. The Patriots entered the game with a 13–3 regular season record, and were also seeking their fourth Super Bowl win. This was a rematch of Super Bowl XLII, which New York also won, spoiling New England's run at a perfect 2007 season. The Giants and the Patriots also played in Week 9 a few months earlier, with the Giants winning on the road 24–20.
The Giants jumped to a 9–0 lead in the first quarter of Super Bowl XLVI before the Patriots scored 17 unanswered points to take a 17–9 lead in the third quarter. But the Giants prevented the Patriots from scoring again, and two consecutive New York field goals chipped away New England's lead, 17–15, late in the third quarter. The Giants capped off an 88-yard drive with running back Ahmad Bradshaw's 6-yard game-winning touchdown with 57 seconds left in the game. Eli Manning, who completed 30 of 40 passes for 296 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions, was named Super Bowl MVP for the second time in his career. He became the third consecutive quarterback to win the award after Aaron Rodgers in Super Bowl XLV and Drew Brees in Super Bowl XLIV. He was also the first Giants quarterback to start and win two championship games since Ed Danowski in 1938.
The broadcast of the game on NBC broke the then record for the most-watched program in American television history, previously set during the previous year's Super Bowl. Super Bowl XLVI was watched by an estimated average audience of 111.3 million US viewers and an estimated total audience of 166.8 million, according to Nielsen, meaning that over half of the American population watched at least some of the initial broadcast. The game also set the record for most tweets per second during a sporting event, with 13.7 million tweets from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. (PST).
Game summary[]
| Team | Conference | 1st Quarter | 2nd Quarter | 3rd Quarter | 4th Quarter | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Giants | NFC | 9 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 21 |
| New England Patriots | AFC | 0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
Starting lineups[]
| New York Giants | Position | New England Patriots | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | |||
| Victor Cruz | wide receiver | Wes Welker | |
| David Diehl | left tackle | Matt Light | |
| Kevin Boothe | left guard | Logan Mankins | |
| David Baas | center | Dan Connolly | |
| Chris Snee | right guard | Brian Walters | |
| Kareem McKenzie | right tackle | Nate Solder | |
| Jake Ballard | tight end | Rob Gronkowski | |
| Hakeem Nicks | wide receiver | Deion Branch | |
| Eli Manning | quarterback | Tom Brady | |
| Henry Hynoski | full back | tight end | Aaron Hernandez |
| Ahmad Bradshaw | running back | BenJarvus Green-Ellis | |
| Defense | |||
| Justin Tuck | left end | linebacker | Tracy White |
| Linval Joseph | left defensive tackle | defensive tackle | Vince Wilfork |
| Chris Canty | right defensive tackle | defensive tackle | Kyle Love |
| Jason Pierre-Paul | right end | defensive lineman | Brandon Deaderick |
| Chase Blackburn | middle linebacker | linebacker | Rob Ninkovich |
| Michael Boley | weakside linebacker | linebacker | Jerod Mayo |
| Corey Webster | left cornerback | linebacker | Brandon Spikes |
| Aaron Ross | right cornerback | left cornerback | Devin McCourty |
| Kenny Phillips | strong safety | right cornerback | Kyle Arrington |
| Antrel Rolle | free safety | safety | James Ihedigbo |
| Deon Grant | safety | Patrick Chung | |
Entertainment[]
Pre-game[]
| Artist | Song(s) |
|---|---|
| Indiana University Marching Hundred | Pre-game show performers |
| Kelly Clarkson Rachel Mazique (American Sign Language interpretation) |
"The Star-Spangled Banner" |
| Blake Shelton Miranda Lambert Rachel Mazique (American Sign Language interpretation) |
"America the Beautiful" |
| 2012 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees (led by Curtis Martin) | Coin toss ceremony participants |
Halftime[]
- Headliner: Madonna
- Special guests: LMFAO, M.I.A., Nicki Minaj and CeeLo Green
- Director: Hamish Hamilton
- Producer: Ricky Kirshner
- Sponsor: Bridgestone
Set list[]
| Artist | Song(s) |
|---|---|
| Madonna | "Vogue" |
| Madonna LMFAO |
"Music" "Party Rock Anthem" (contains elements of "Sexy and I Know It") |
| Madonna Nicki Minaj M.I.A. |
"Give Me All Your Luvin" |
| Madonna CeeLo Green Avon High School Drumline Center Grove High School Drumline Fishers High School Drumline Franklin Central High School Drumline |
"Open Your Heart" "Express Yourself" |
| Madonna CeeLo Green Choir of 200 local Indianapolis singers |
"Like a Prayer" |
Broadcasting[]
United States[]
| Network | Play-by-play announcer | Color commentator(s) | Sideline reporter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NBC | Al Michaels | Cris Collinsworth | Michele Tafoya |
| Dial Global | Kevin Harlan | Boomer Esiason | James Lofton and Mark Malone |
Other programming[]
| Programming type | Program |
|---|---|
| Lead-out program | The Voice (season premiere) |
| Counterprogramming | Puppy Bowl VIII (Animal Planet) |
Commercials[]
| Product type | Advertiser/product |
|---|---|
| Beer | Bud Light |
| Budweiser | |
| Candy | M&M's |
| Car | Acura |
| Audi | |
| Cadillac | |
| Chevrolet | |
| Chrysler | |
| Fiat | |
| Honda | |
| Hyundai | |
| Kia Motors | |
| Toyota | |
| Volkswagen | |
| Film | Act of Valor |
| The Avengers | |
| Battleship | |
| John Carter | |
| The Lorax | |
| Food | Dannon Yogurt |
| Doritos | |
| Flowers | Teleflora |
| Real estate | Century 21 Real Estate |
| Soft drink | The Coca-Cola Company |
| Pepsi | |
| Shoes | Skechers |
| Store | Best Buy |
| Tires | Bridgestone |
| Website | CareerBuilder.com |
| Cars.com |
International[]
| Country | Network |
|---|---|
| Latin America | ESPN, Fox Sports |
| Australia | ESPN, Network Ten, One |
| Austria | Puls 4 |
| Belgium | Be Sport 1, Prime Sport 1 |
| Brazil | ESPN, TV Esporte Interativo |
| Canada | CTV, RDS, TSN Radio |
| China | Dragon TV, G-Sports |
| Denmark | TV3+, TV3+ HD |
| Finland | Nelonen Pro 1, Nelonen Pro 2 |
| France | W9 |
| Germany | Sat.1, ran.de, Sport1+, ESPN America HD |
| Greece | Nova Sports |
| Hungary | Sport 1 |
| Iceland | ESPN America |
| Ireland | BBC One, Sky Sports |
| Israel | Sport 5 |
| Italy | Sportitalia, ESPN America |
| Japan | NHK BS1, NTV G+ |
| Mexico | Canal 5, Azteca 7 |
| Netherlands | ESPN |
| New Zealand | ESPN |
| Norway | Viasat Sport Norge, Viasat Sport HD |
| Poland | Polsat Sport, ESPN America |
| Portugal | Sport TV, ESPN America |
| Romania | Sport 1 |
| Russia | NTV Plus |
| Serbia | ESPN America |
| Slovenia | Šport TV |
| South Africa | ESPN |
| Spain | Canal+ 1 |
| Sweden | TV10, Viasat Fotboll, Viasat Fotboll HD |
| United Kingdom | BBC One, Sky Sports, BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra |