For two weeks all the talk was how the New England Patriots would win their fourth Super Bowl title this decade, finish the year with a perfect 19-0 record and, maybe, become the best NFL team of all time.
Well, the New York Giants scored one of the biggest Super Bowl upsets of all time by edging the Patriots, 17-14. It was not supposed to be this way, New England was rated a 12 to 14 point favorite by most Las Vegas booking agencies. The Patriots had already defeated the Giants earlier in the year, 38-35, and were 18-0 to the Giants’ 13-6, record wise.
If anything, the Super Bowl game goes to show why you can’t crown a team champion before you play the game. The Giants defense sacked Tom Brady five times, hurried him to throw 10 more times and held the Patriots to only 14 points, their season low.
The Giants got the scoring started in the first quarter as Lawrence Tynes kicked a 32-yard field goal to put the Giants up 3-0. As the first quarter wrapped up, New England got it’s offense on track long enough to drive down the field, mixing the run and Brady’s passing to get to the Giant 1-yard line where Laurence Maroney carried the ball over for a touchdown. The touchdown gave the Patriots a 7-3 lead with the second quarter just underway.
It stayed 7-3 Patriots until the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter might have been one of the best, if not the best, in Super Bowl history. Rookie wide receiver David Tyree caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning to put the Giants on top 10-7.
A lot of people probably thought New England was finished, but not so fast. Brady again got his high-scoring offense on track when he completed four passes on the drive to Wes Walker and two to Randy Moss.
That, along with what little running Maroney did, set the Patriots up deep in Giant territory with a first-and-ten. Brady then found Randy Moss for a 6-yard touchdown that put the Patriots ahead 14-10 with only 2:52 to go in the game.
After Moss’ touchdown, it looked as though the Patriots dream of a 19-0 perfect season would come true. All they had to do was stop a team that lost six games in the regular season and had the wrong Manning at quarterback. Manning has been criticized the four years he’s been the Giants quarterback as not being able to win the big game.
Easy task for the Patriots, right? Wrong! Eli Manning has proven in this year’s NFL playoffs that he’s a force to be reckoned with. Once again, he proved it during the game, when he completed a 32-yard pass to Tyree that is probably the most spectular catch in Super Bowl history.
This set the Giants up at the Patriot 24-yard line with a first-and-ten. Time was becoming a factor, the Giants had to score in a hurry and a field goal would do them no good. So what did Manning do? He completed a pass to Steve Smith, another rookie wide receiver, to give the Giants a first-and-ten at the New England 14-yard line. Manning then delivered a 14-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress for the game-winner.
The Giants are Super Bowl champions with their 17-14 victory. The quarterback who grew up in these NFL playoffs, leading his team to victories on the road three straight weeks at Tampa, Dallas, and Green Bay is a WORLD CHAMPION.
Way to go, Eli, you won’t have to worry about being Peyton’s little brother any more. Also, Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, who has heard his share of criticism during his reign as coach won’t have to hear them anymore. At least until next year when the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints or some other team knocks the Giants out.
In New England, however, Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, Randy Moss and all the high-powered Patriots offense will look back at this season as a lost opportunity or what might have been.