Super Bowl XLII Recap: New York Giants 17 - New England Patriots 14

Giants outlast Pats, hold back history

For those who spent Sunday evening stewing in a feverish pitch anticipating being a witness to history, the concoction of shock and disappointment proved to be a bitter pill to swallow.

Seemingly crowned Super Bowl champions two weeks prior to the game, the New England Patriots proceeded to fall victim to a heavily underestimated New York Giants team, 17-14, leaving a nation grasping for explanation with jaws wide open. On a rainy and misty night in the Arizona desert, the forecast for a Giants’ win proved more and more probable as Eli Manning and a ferocious defensive effort stymied New England’s attempt at a perfect season and gridiron immortality, leading to a New York City-sized overflow of pure joy and jubilation that no one saw coming.

“This is the greatest feeling in professional sports,” wide receiver Plaxico Burress told reporters shortly after catching the game-winning touchdown pass. “For us to come out and win a world championship tonight - nobody gave us a shot.”

Hours before Burress caught the 13-yard clincher from quarterback Eli Manning, the Giants dictated their physical style of play from the very beginning with a workmanship-like, 16-play drive that took a Super Bowl-record 9 minutes 59 seconds off the clock, resulting in a Lawrence Tynes 32-yard field goal on the game’s opening possession.

But like they have all year, Tom Brady and the Patriots wasted no time in answering the bell, orchestrating a scoring drive of their own initiated by a 43-yard kickoff return by running back Laurence Maroney. And as Maroney started the drive, he finished it with a 1-yard touchdown plunge to put New England ahead, 7-3, to start the second quarter. Two plays earlier, Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce was flagged for pass interference on Benjamin Watson in the end zone, and the ball was placed just outside the goal line.

The subsequent 35 minutes, interrupted by a less-than-inspiring performance by legendary rocker Tom Petty, saw a show of defensive prowess with both teams’ pass rush interrupting the other’s offensive rhythm. But, on this night, New York’s defensive line, coupled with an array of creative blitz packages, flexed more muscle while putting the clamps on the league’s most prolific offense ever.

During the teams’ previous meeting on Dec. 29 in New York, the Giants, who led the NFL in sacks with 53, sacked Brady only once with two starters missing action in a 38-35 loss. But despite the modest production, many felt the Giants’ defensive unit was able to pressure Brady more than any other team during the course of the season. On Sunday, a day when they were fully equipped, the Giants not only pressured the regular season MVP, they harassed him.

Utilizing defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s crafty blitz packages, the Giants were able to disrupt New England’s offensive timing by sending linebackers Kawika Mitchell and Antonio Pierce up the middle and defensive backs off the edge when they weren’t generating intense pressure with their front four. The pocket Brady had enjoyed for so long began to steadily collapse as the game wore on, and the Giants were able to sack Brady five times. Leading the way was Justin Tuck, the third-year defensive end from Notre Dame. Tuck ended the game with six tackles - five of which were solo - along with two sacks and a forced fumble.

With his team mustering a meager 81 first-half yards, by far a season low, New England coach Bill Belichick made what proved to be at the time a shrewd decision to challenge a non-call that the Giants’ Chase Blackburn failed to make it to the sideline prior to the Patriots punting early in the third quarter. After review, the previous call was overturned resulting in a first down and new life for New England. However, any brilliance Belichick showed in deciding to challenge the illegal substitution was soon erased when he inexplicably chose to forgo kicking a 49-field goal and opting to gamble on fourth and long. New England failed to convert as Brady threw the ball through the back of the end zone.

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Belichick’s ill-timed lack of intelligence seemed to give his opponents a jolt. Following the longest play from scrimmage from either team, a 45-yard pass play from Manning to tight end Kevin Boss, the Giants eventually drove to the Patriots’ five yard line where Manning found David Tyree off play-action for the score and a 10-7 New York lead. Tyree’s reception nearly four minutes into the final quarter was his first touchdown catch of the season.

However, history would not go down without a fight. Brady and Co. dink and dunked their way down the field with a 12-play, 80-yard drive with would-be MVP Wes Welker catching three of his Super Bowl record-tying eleven receptions. Now sitting at the Giants’ 6-yard line, Brady went away from the double-team on Welker and hit a wide-open Randy Moss in the end zone for the 14-10 advantage.

As any attentive viewer surely observed, a collective sigh of relief seemed to almost engulf the confines of University of Phoenix Stadium after the Moss touchdown catch. History, after a hard-fought battle, finally managed to outlast the gritty underdog, giving this country a look at unprecedented success and a new bar of excellence for which to reach. Perfection. Nineteen wins, zero losses. It seemed that Brady had done it again, this time writing his most riveting chapter in New England’s championship novel.

Yet, still the unproven Manning had just over two minutes to show the world what he could do when it mattered most. And he did, on the world of sports’ biggest stage. The Super Bowl XLII MVP willed his team down the field with a memorable 83-yard drive that included a fourth-and-one pickup and multiple third-and-long conversions, including a classic, 32-yard throw-and-catch to Tyree. After Manning somehow escaped the grasp of what seemed like all four New England defensive lineman, he rolled right and fired a high strike that Tyree met at its highest point and subsequently pinned against his helmet as he fell to the ground at the 24-yard line with Patriots safety Rodney Harrison draped from head to toe.

After a key first down pickup by rookie wideout Steve Smith, the Giants then had the ball at the New England 13 yard line and a realistic chance to defy history. Lightning struck on the next play when Manning found Burress open in the corner of the end zone for the score and the lead with a mere 35 ticks left. It was then when history took a back seat to destiny.

Faced with a three-point deficit, 74 yards and only 29 seconds with which to make it up, it seemed improbable that even Tom Brady would summon the reserve to succeed under such conditions. The Giants’ pass rush, relentless until the final snap, sacked Brady for a loss of ten yards on second down, forcing New England to heave two desperation passes in vain to end the game.

A New York Giants’ victory on Sunday was deemed improbable not because they were the inferior team, but due to the fact they were going up against the New England Patriots in addition to the record books. Tom Coughlin’s team was written off after starting 0-2. Now, eleven consecutive wins away from home and many silenced critics later, the Giants have completed an unlikely journey that ended with them defying the odds as well as history.

“The guys on this team and the run we’ve made-it’s hard to believe-it really is,” the MVP said.

Believe it, Eli. Believe it.

by Ryan Faller
ProFootball-fans.com Guest writer

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