Short answers, pulled from the story.
The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI on the 5th of February 2012, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Eli Manning was named Super Bowl MVP after throwing for 1,219 yards across the entire postseason, the most by any quarterback in a single postseason at that time.
The 2011 NFL lockout lasted 130 days, from March 11 to July 25. It was resolved following the settlement of the Brady et al. v. NFL antitrust suit, after which players ratified a new collective bargaining agreement on August 4 that ran through 2021.
Drew Brees set the all-time single-season passing yards record with 5,476 yards and threw 46 touchdown passes. He also set records for most completions in a season with 472, highest team completion percentage at 71.3 percent, most 300-yard passing games in a season with 13, and most consecutive 300-yard passing games with 7.
Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers set the all-time single-season quarterback passer rating record at 122.5. He also threw two or more touchdown passes in 13 consecutive games, another single-season record.
Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck was considered the best quarterback prospect in years entering the 2012 NFL Draft, prompting fans of struggling teams, notably the Indianapolis Colts, to openly root for losses so their teams would earn the first overall draft pick. The phrase "Suck for Luck" became widely used. The Carolina Panthers had already selected Cam Newton first overall in the 2011 draft, which was held April 28-30 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
The first NFL Honors was held at the Murat Theatre in Indianapolis on the 4th of February 2012. Aaron Rodgers won AP Most Valuable Player, Cam Newton won AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, Terrell Suggs of the Baltimore Ravens won AP Defensive Player of the Year, Von Miller of the Denver Broncos won AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, and Jim Harbaugh of the San Francisco 49ers won AP Coach of the Year.