Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders recently crunched numbers and said the Giants are one of the worst teams to ever make the Super Bowl, and that if they beat the Patriots, it might be one of the biggest upsets in the game's history. In outlining the case for the Giants' sucking, Schatz cited such statistics as win-loss record during the regular season, turnover differential, average margin of victory, and average margin of victory in playoff games. Taken as a whole, it was a commendable effort, but with all due respect, those numbers mean little when compared with one unquantifiable factor: momentum.

There's no denying that a 10-6 team, with a -10 turnover differential, which only outscored its opponents by 22 points during the season, looks rather weak on paper. But that's taking the entire season into account; and frankly, who cares if the Giants' early-season numbers stack up poorly against the Packers and the Cowboys, whom they just beat on the road? What does it matter if the Giants gave up 76 points to the Cowboys in two regular-season games? That second game was Nov. 11, more than two months ago. What's that have to do with now? For three-quarters of last season, the Colts couldn't stop a blind nun from running off tackle. But then they (and a healthy Bob Sanders) figured it out at the most important time -- during the playoffs. So what difference did it make that they gave up 227 yards to the Broncos on Oct. 29? I know, I know: Past performance is usually a good indicator of future performance. But really, that's more applicable to stocks and sexual partners.

Statistical gurus never discuss momentum, which is understandable, since momentum can't be quantified. Then again, it can't be denied either. The Giants may have lost the Game 16 match-up against the Patriots, but really, momentum-wise, it was as good as a win, because they parlayed that confidence-building contest into three consecutive road playoff victories. The only team in NFL playoff history to win 3 road games and the Super Bowl was the Steelers two years ago. That team also struggled early in the year, and at one point were 7-5. They then won 8 games in a row to close it out.

In the last 8 games, the Giants have only lost twice -- to an emotional Redskins team playing with pride and purpose after the death of Sean Taylor, and to an undefeated Patriots team, playing with pride and purpose in its pursuit of perfection. So, do the Giants have more momentum than the Patriots right now? A stat head would probably say no, since New England has won 18 games in a row. But just look at what's happened since the Patriots and Giants met in the season finale.

New England had an off week (when Randy Moss had a rough go of it); were huge favorites to beat Jacksonville at home (but were tied with them 14-14 at the half); then were huge favorites to beat Philip Rivers's and his one ACL, won by an uninspiring 9 points, and easily could have lost if the four field-goal Chargers could have converted their turnover advantage into even one touchdown. Meanwhile, the Giants crushed Tampa on the road, beat the #1 seed Cowboys on the road, and then beat Brett Favre and the Packers in sub-human conditions in Green Bay -- after their kicker flubbed two go-ahead field goals before icing the game in overtime. The Giants come out of the NFC feeling like they could beat anybody, in any conditions, no matter how grim it looks. The Patriots? They come out of the AFC feeling like Tom Brady's foot had BETTER be OK.

Earlier this season, Patriots' victories seemed preordained. But do they feel that way now?

If the Giants win this game, it won't be an historic upset, and it won't surprise me. The only thing that would surprise me about this game is if the Giants and Eli Manning reverse course from the last two months and get blown out. You can crunch all the numbers you want, to make it sound like the Giants are one of the worst teams to ever play in a Super Bowl. But they have something impossible to quantify: momentum. Whether it's enough to overcome the Patriots, I don't know. But it's certainly enough to keep them close. And if they can do that, they'll at least prove one thing: They're not one of the worst teams to make the Super Bowl, no matter what the numbers say.