Topic summary
Super Bowl XLVI
Indianapolis, Indiana
Cris Collinsworth (analyst)
Michele Tafoya (sideline reporter)
56.7 (Boston)
56.4 (Indianapolis)
49.7 (New York)
US viewership: 111.3 million est. avg., 166.8 million est. total
Boomer Esiason (analyst)
James Lofton and Mark Malone (sideline reporters)
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 and as of 2026, only time that the Super Bowl was played in Indiana.
In addition to winning their fourth Super Bowl and eighth NFL championship overall, 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 the Giants also won, spoiling the Patriots' 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 Giants field goals chipped away the Patriots' 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).
As of 2026, this remains the most recent Super Bowl victory and appearance for the Giants. They were also the last New York City-based team to win a championship in one of the top four North American sports leagues until the New York Knicks won the NBA championship in 2026. The 14-year drought between championships from 2012 to 2026 was the longest in New York City's history, and its longest since a seven-year championship drought from 1962 to 1969.