We searched high and low. We labored over every guide book, stat compendium, game replay and online resource known to man and troll alike. We’ve still yet to find a legitimate reason beyond “act of the Gridiron Gods” why the Giants should beat the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.

What we did find, folks, is the greatest statistical mismatch in NFL championship game history. Not Super Bowl history, folks. All of NFL history.

Super Bowl XLII is literally the NFL's Mismatch of the Century ... and the league is only 88 years old.

(But there is hope, Giants fans, in your own organization's storied history. More on the window of hope below.)

Greatest mismatch in the standings
The Giants are one of three teams with a mark of 10-6 (or worse) to reach the Super Bowl. The Patriots are the first 16-0 team in NFL history.

The six-game difference between title contenders is the greatest in any NFL championship game ever.

The greatest previous margin in a Super Bowl — four games — came back in 1985-86, when the 15-1 Bears trounced the 11-5 Patriots, 46-10.

You have to go all the way back to the 1934 NFL championship game, the second ever played, to find a title contest in which the contenders were separated by more than four games in the standings. The 13-0 Bears of 1934 boasted a five-game advantage over the 8-5 Giants.

But there is a ray of hope there for Big Blue fans: the 8-5 Giants smoked the undefeated Bears that day, 30-13, in what remains the NFL's greatest upset.

Greatest mismatch on the scoreboard
There’s never been a Super Bowl or NFL championship game in which the two contenders entered with such a startling difference on the scoreboard.

You know the Patriots scored more points this year (589) than any team in history. You know their scoring differential of +315 points (589-274) is also the greatest in history.

You might not know that the Giants were a mere +22 on the scoreboard in 2007 (373-351). (Only one team reached the Super Bowl with a more mediocre record in the standings or on the scoreboard. The 1979 Rams went 9-7 and were a mere +14 (323-309).)

To put it another way,

• the Patriots outscored opponents by an average of +19.7 PPG in 2007
• the Giants outscored opponents by an average of +1.4 PPG

There's never been a disparity that great in NFL championship game history.

Greatest mismatch on offense
The Patriots scored 589 points this year. The Giants scored 373 points. The difference of 216 points scored is the greatest among championship contenders in all of NFL history.

To put the differential in perspective, the “Greatest Show on Turf” 2001 Rams outscored the surprising upstart 2001 Patriots by just +132 points (503-371).

Greatest mismatch at quarterback
Among the many records New England quarterback Tom Brady has set in his career, his 50 TD passes and +42 margin in TDs to INTs are probably the most remarkable.

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And he faces in New York’s Eli Manning a quarterback who tossed 23 TD against 20 picks.

If those numbers sound familiar, they are: Chicago quarterback Rex Grossman tossed 23 TDs against 20 picks last year, in his Super Bowl season.

There's never been a championship game with a greater disparity in the production of the starting quarterbacks.

But there is a ray of hope there for Big Blue fans: Only seven Live Ball Era QBs failed to throw more TDs than picks in their Super Bowl season. Only one of them won: Giants quarterback Phil Simms threw 21 TDs and 22 picks in 1986. Yet he was nearly flawless (a postseason record 22 of 25 completions) as he outplayed future HOFer John Elway in a 39-20 win over the Broncos in Super Bowl XXI.

Greatest mismatch against Quality Opponents
The Patriots are a sterling 9-0 vs. Quality Opponents in 2007 (including playoffs), tying the record of the 2003 Patriots for the best mark ever against winning teams entering the Super Bowl. The Giants are just 4-5 vs. Quality Opponents (including playoffs).

Super Bowl XLII just the fourth time that one contender had a five-game advantage over its opponent against Quality Teams. The Patriots dynasty is now responsible for three of those mismatches.

The 1979 Steelers entered Super Bowl XIV with a 9-3 mark vs. Quality Teams. The Rams were 4-4. The 2003 Patriots entered Super Bowl XXXVIII with a 9-0 mark vs. Quality Teams. The Panters were 4-3. The 2004 Patriots entered Super Bowl XXXIX with a 9-1 mark vs. Quality Teams. The Eagles were 3-1.

But there is a ray of hope there for Big Blue fans: the disparity didn't matter much on game day, at least if the outmatched team was hoping to compete before losing.

• The dynastic 1979 Steelers needed two fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull out a 31-19 win over a Rams team that went just 9-7 overall in the regular season.
• The 2003 Patriots needed a last-second field goal to pull out a 32-29 win over a Panthers team that went just 11-5 overall in the regular season.
• The 2004 Patriots eked out a 24-21 win over an Eagles team that went 13-3 overall in the regular season.