Super Bowl XI regular season record before defeating the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoffs. The Vikings were making their fourth Super Bowl appearance after posting an 11–2–1 regular season record and playoff victories over the Washington Redskins and the Los Angeles Rams. The Vikings became the first team to appear in four Super Bowls, a record they held until the Dallas Cowboys advanced to a Super Bowl for the fifth time in Super Bowl XIII. They had not won in their previous three attempts, losing Super Bowl IV to the Kansas City Chiefs in the final Super Bowl
Super Bowl XLVI which the Giants have won the Super Bowl they have faced their AFC Super bowl counterpart previously during the regular season. The Giants are now 4–0 in Super Bowls in which Bill Belichick has been on the sidelines. Belichick was the Giants' defensive coordinator for their first two Super Bowl victories, and the opposing head coach in their last two. Three of the Giants' victories have come against AFC East teams, with the Giants having defeated the Buffalo Bills and Patriots twice. The Giants continued their winning streak in road playoff games with their win in Super Bowl XLVI. The