It’s a sad day for football when the hopes of a nation rest on the shoulders of Eli Manning. Or at least, the hopes of everyone outside the general New England region.

I mean, really, the nation’s biggest game on its brightest stage comes down to whether Eli, not Peyton, or the ageless wonder Favre, or the reincarnated ghost of Johnny U., can outscore Tom Brady and the just-too-good New England Patriots.

I mean, Eli versus Brady is a punch-line, right? The young, disappointing New York Giants signal caller living in the shadow cast by his ridiculously talented older brother and somewhat overrated father? That’s the guy who’s going to do it? That’s the guy who’s going to bring this ‘Patriot Reign’ of terror to an end?

Yep. Believe it or not, little Eli’s all grown up.

No matter what the score or the circumstances, you don’t win at Lambeau Field in January unless you’re very, very good. And more importantly, you don’t win at Lambeau in subzero temperatures unless you’re also very good at blocking out the naysayers and the history of the place. Think of all the external pressure watching that game: that Favre and the Packers were the team of destiny, the team everyone wanted to see against the Pats. The significant homefield advantage was just another point in Green Bay’s favor.

And yet it’s not Brett Fav-ray or his Packers moving on to Arizona. It’s Eli and his Giants. And you know what? He really does have a chance.

For one, these aren’t quite the same Patriots we saw earlier in the year who were so good that the other team really didn’t even need to show up. No, these are the Patriots who suddenly look a little slow, a little small and a little old on defense. These are the Patriots who supposedly have Randy Moss on the roster, but his presence can’t actually be verified by anyone who’s watched them in the playoffs.

And the Giants? Well, the hard-nosed running of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw might somewhat approximate the 1-2 Jacksonville punch that was supposed to give New England so much trouble. Instead, the Patriots were perhaps overly focused on stopping the run, and Jaguars quarterback David Garrard was free to run wild, playing one of the best games of his career. And let’s just say that Plaxico Burress is better than any receiver the Pats had to worry about against Jacksonville.

But maybe it’s not the Giants offense that New England should really fear. If there is one thing that New York has done exceptionally well to get them to this point, it’s been finding the players who might actually be able to beat a Tom Brady, not just be compared unfavorably with him.

Start with Michael Strahan and throw in Osi Umenyiora for the best tandem of defensive ends in the league. Justin Tuck is a more than competent addition to that tandem up the middle. Indeed, the Patriots as well as the rest of the league should count themselves lucky that youngster Mathias Kiwanuka was lost to injury earlier in the season, as the former Boston College pass rusher was starting to come on strong himself early in the year.

In short, the Giants have been almost obsessively focused on building a pass rush for years. In some ways, they’ve almost become one-dimensional about it, but what a dimension that is. Take one look at New York’s current secondary and you’ll see that they’ve really only considered one way to stop the pass: crushing the quarterback rather than covering the receivers. But a lack of healthy secondary talent may hardly matter if Brady spends the game on his back. And it’s that pass rush, along with a strangely competent Eli, that should worry New England. Especially with Tom Brady banged up and trudging around town wearing a protective boot, supposedly to treat a ‘mildly’ sprained ankle.

So, while of course the Patriots must still be considered the favorite in every game they play until proven otherwise, the notion that America somehow lost out when the Giants downed the Packers is a faulty one. As fun as it would have been to see Favre try for another ring against one of the best teams the game has ever seen, if it’s an upset you’re looking for, then this is your matchup.

Seeing Eli lead New York Giants in that light is definitely going to take some getting used to, though.