This will be an old pals Super Bowl, with two coaches who are longtime buddies leading teams operated by the two of the NFL's most venerable owners. Jim Fassel of the New York Giants and Brian Billick of the Baltimore Ravens steered a pair of unlikely teams into the NFL championship game. Wellington Mara, Giants co-owner, and Art Modell of the Ravens have held key roles on various league committees during the last 40 years. Now, maybe these friends can agree that the first team to score wins.
Points figure to be at a premium, with both teams coming into the big game with impressive defenses.
Baltimore is favored by 2.5 points, with Las Vegas bookmakers setting the over-under at 34 points, one of the lowest in Super Bowl history. There is good reason for that. The Ravens set an NFL record, allowing just 165 points in 16 games. They had four regular-season shutouts and have allowed just 16 points in playoff victories over Denver, Tennessee and Oakland. The Giants shut out Minnesota for the NFC title, allowing the Vikings just 114 yards, tying the record for third-fewest yards allowed in a postseason game.