Tom Brady throws a pass from the end zone on a play that was ruled a safety. (AP)

INDIANAPOLIS — Two quarters are in the books here at Lucas Oil Stadium, and the Patriots hold a 10-9 lead despite the fact that the Giants dominated most of the first two quarters. Here are a few quick notes.

• Considering how badly they played on both sides of the ball, the Patriots are fortunate to be in the situation they’re in. The Patriots were burned by some bad mental mistakes in the early going, as they took a safety (after an intentional grounding call on a play where Tom Brady was throwing from the end zone), a 12 men on the field call and a miscommunication on defense that led to an early touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Victor Cruz. It didn’t help that Manning looked very sharp in the early going, completing his first nine passes to set a Super Bowl record.

• The Giants were able to get a nice series on their first drive, but the Patriots came up with a pair of sacks on Manning (one by Brandon Deaderick, the other by Mark Anderson) to force a punt. The New England defense — which saw a rare start by Tracy White at linebacker — was aggressive early. Sometimes it worked (like on the two sacks), and other times, not so much. (Cornerback Antuwan Molden jumped a route on a pass for Hakeem Nicks, just missed, and the Giants ended up converting a 19-yard pass play.)

• Molden would later get flagged as part of a penalty for too many men on the field, and would also get burned on an impressive 18-yard completion from Manning to Nicks over the middle that gave the Giants a first down. A rough start to the Super Bowl for the young cornerback.

• The Patriots offense was sluggish out of the gate. On New England’s first offensive play from scrimmage, Brady held on to the ball too long and was hit in the end zone as he delivered. The quarterback was flagged for intentional grounding, and that gave the Giants a safety and a 2-0 lead. That penalty — and safety — was all on the quarterback, as it appeared he missed a wide-open Rob Gronkowski.

• On the ensuing drive, the Giants got their offense started quickly, with the key play coming on a 24-yard run by Ahmad Bradshaw when safety Pat Chung had a swing and a miss on a tackle that allowed Bradshaw to pick up a ton of yards. The Patriots were able to force a fumble but were flagged for 12 men on the field, which gave the ball back to New York. The Giants pushed it in when Manning found Cruz on a 2-yard touchdown pass (a slant pattern) between Jerod Mayo and James Ihedigbo that made it 9-0 with 3:24 left in the first quarter.

• The Patriots got their first sustained drive of the night at the end of the first quarter and the start of the second with a 10-play, 60-yard sequence (with Wes Welker providing the highlights with a 10-yard run and 19-yard catch) that ended with a 29-yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski to make it 9-3 with 13:28 left in the half.

• New England ended the half on an up note with a classic 14-play, 96-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard pass play from Brady to Danny Woodhead that gave the Patriots a 10-9 lead with eight seconds left in the half. Brady was 10-for-10 and Woodhead accounted for 33 yards on the drive.