PHOENIX — It’s a tall order, but it is, of course, possible for the New York Giants to upset the New England Patriots today in Super Bowl XLII.

The majority of NFL observers, however, believe New England will complete its undefeated season this evening. .

How the Giants could pull out the win are varied: Grind it out and play possession ball, or air it out to circumvent the Patriots’ defensive prowess in the short-to-intermediate routes.

USA Today NFL writer Jarrett Bell suggested that the Giants dominate in time of possession.

“When the Giants won Super Bowl XXV against the Bills, they set an NFL record with (more than) 40 minutes of possession time, which kept the Buffalo offense off the field,” Bell said. “These Giants had the number-four run game in the league, so they’re capable of controlling the game with ball possession.”

But the problem with that theory is that New York’s defensive coordinator for that 20-19 victory against Buffalo was Bill Belichick. It might be tough to try to use Belichick’s own game plan against him.

And as great as that Buffalo offense was, with Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed, New England’s offense is arguably better, led by Tom Brady, throwing to Randy Moss and Wes Welker and handing off to Laurence Maroney.

On the other side of the spectrum, former pro defensive back and NFL Network analyst Solomon Wilcots believes the Giants can have success stretching the field. Wilcots said the Patriots’ linebackers and defensive backs are exceptional at covering the passing game between the numbers and on passes less than 20 yards.

Sending Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer or rookie Steve Smith, who has come on in the last month or so, down the field is the best way to take advantage of the New England secondary, Wilcots said.

Dallas Morning News reporter Albert Breer thinks the Giants need to be aggressive. On offense, that means throwing on first and second down, and on defense, it means jamming the Pats’ receivers and trying to get negative plays to put New England in long-yardage situations.

“With the Patriots base defense, you can find mismatches, particularly over the middle,” Breer said. “Rodney Harrison and James Sanders aren’t the fastest, and neither are Tedy Bruschi and Junior Seau, so staying out of long-yardage situations means the Patriots won’t use their nickel and dime packages, where they have faster players.

Breer added that hot reads by Eli Manning plays in the Giants advantage, as Burress and Toomer are mismatches, height-wise, for corners Asante Samuel and Ellis Hobbs.

Jamming Moss, Donte Stallworth, Jabar Gaffney and Benjamin Watson can disrupt the timing of the offense and give the Giants’ pass rushers an extra step to get to Brady.

Bell said winning the turnover battle is key for New York; Breer thinks not just turnovers, but negative plays like stopping Maroney for a two-yard loss on first down and thus putting New England in second-and-12.

“When that happens, [Justin] Tuck comes onto the field with [Michael] Strahan and Osi [Umenyiora], and that’s the worst possible matchup for the Patriots,” Breer said.

In the end, however, Breer, Bell and Wilcots believe the Patriots will win.

smanza@projo.com