Patriots look for perfect ending against Giants

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New England Patriots will look to pen the perfect ending to a magical season on Saturday when they take on the New York Giants in a regular-season finale that could land them in the NFL record books.

Perfection is rarely seen in any sport but with a win over the Giants at the Meadowlands the Patriots can join the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only teams to go through the NFL regular season unbeaten.

In fact with a victory over the Giants, the Patriots could lay claim to the greatest regular season in NFL history going 16-0. The Dolphins's 1972 campaign included a 14-0 regular season.

The Patriots's pursuit of perfection began in early September with a 38-14 rout of the New York Jets at the Meadowlands and just three days before the New Year they return to Giants Stadium to face one final hurdle.

While the game will have no impact on the post-season picture, the fans' fascination with perfection has generated huge interest in the contest that is expected to attract huge television ratings.

The NFL had planned to air the game nationally on its NFL Network cable channel but under pressure from fans and U.S. legislators agreed to show the contest on CBS and NBC making it the first simultaneously broadcast football game since the 1967 Super Bowl.

TOP SEED

Since the Patriots clinched the top seed in the AFC and a first-round bye, there has been rampant speculation over whether coach Bill Belichick might rest his top players over the final games with an eye towards the Super Bowl.

Belichick, however, has allowed his team to keep their foot on the throttle leaving the Patriots poised for a rewrite of the record book.

Quarterback Tom Brady and his favorite target wide receiver Randy Moss will both step on the field Saturday with an opportunity to put their names beside records.

Brady needs just two touchdown passes to eclipse Peyton Manning's record of 49 while Moss is two touchdown catches away from bettering Jerry Rice's mark of 22.

With Brady at the controls of one of the most potent attacks the NFL has seen, the Patriots have crushed opponents scoring 551 points, just six shy of breaking the single-season record set by the 1998 Minnesota Vikings.

The Patriots's league leading offense is backed up by the NFL's fourth ranked defense, leaving few weak spots on either side of the line of scrimmage for the Giants to exploit.

While the Patriots can look ahead to a first-round playoff bye, the Giants are unlikely to place too much emphasis on what is for them a meaningless contest with a wildcard playoff clash set for next weekend against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"I'm not going to take nothing away from them but I'm not going to say they're so far ahead of everybody else," Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora told reporters. "It's not like they're Jesus Christ and his 12 Disciples or nothing like that."

(Writing by Steve Keating in Toronto, editing by Alison Wildey)