TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Perfect Super Bowl Ending For Giants

Photo by The Associated Press

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, left, and Michael Strahan celebrate the Giants' 17-14 win over the New England Patriots Sunday night.

ADVERTISEMENT

By IRA KAUFMAN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 4, 2008

GLENDALE, Ariz. - It's only fitting the New York Giants donned the road uniforms on Super Bowl Sunday.

Tom Coughlin's gritty gang of overachievers felt right at home.

With his famous older brother, Peyton, cheering him on from a luxury box, Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning maintained his stunning postseason poise by rallying the wild-card Giants past the Patriots 17-14, spoiling New England's quest for NFL immortality.

"We shocked the world but not ourselves," said Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce, who posted 10 tackles and keyed a swarming effort that limited the league's No. 1 attack to 274 yards. "Everybody said Tom Brady couldn't get rattled. I don't know if he got rattled, but he sure ended up with some grass stains."

A drab game turned dramatic in the fourth quarter, when three lead changes and a thrilling conclusion capped one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history.

The previously unbeaten Patriots led 7-3 after three quarters in an attempt to set an NFL record with their 19th win and join the 1972 Dolphins as the only perfect clubs in the league's 88-year history.

Instead, Manning threw two scoring passes in the final quarter, including the game-winning 13-yard strike to soothsayer Plaxico Burress with only 35 seconds remaining.

"These guys play with great heart, they never say die and they just keep coming," said Coughlin, whose No. 5 seed opened the 2007 season with two losses. "I told them Saturday night, 'Other than family, the greatest feeling in the world is when all of a sudden you realize you're the world champion.'"

The Giants (14-6) entered cavernous University of Phoenix Stadium with 10 consecutive road victories, including wins at Tampa, Dallas and Green Bay as Manning wasn't intercepted in 85 playoff passes.

Manning threw for 255 yards Sunday, with one deflected interception, while Brady suffered a season-high five sacks as the league MVP was hounded by the league's premier pass rush.

"Fourteen points? If it wasn't for our defense, we wouldn't have even been in the game," said Burress, who stepped off the team plane in Phoenix a week ago and promptly guaranteed a Giants victory.

Reserve wide receiver David Tyree played a key role for the 12-point underdogs, catching a 5-yard scoring pass to put the Giants ahead 10-7 with 11:05 remaining and adding a 32-yard reception on the winning march as Manning spun away from pressure and lofted a jump ball on third down.

Gunning for a fourth Super Bowl triumph in seven years, Brady responded by completing eight of 11 passes on an 80-yard drive as New England regained the lead with 2:42 remaining on a 6-yard touchdown catch by Randy Moss.

With members of the '72 Dolphins fervently hoping to keep their unique legacy alive, Manning ended New England's dream season, one year after Peyton Manning led the Colts past the Bears in Super Bowl XLI.

"We're proud to still be the only undefeated team in the history of the National Football League," former Miami running back Jim Kiick said. "Why shouldn't we be? We never were against the New England Patriots."

The Giants haven't been the same since dropping a 38-35 decision to the Patriots in the regular-season finale as Coughlin played his regulars in a nationally televised Saturday night thriller that featured four touchdown passes by Manning.

"We've heard a lot of people say that the Giants got a false sense of confidence from that game," Giants defensive end Michael Strahan said. "No, we got confident."

Brady completed 29 of 48 passes for 266 yards without an interception Sunday, but New England scored only twice after setting a league record with 75 regular-season touchdowns.

"When you don't finish with a win in the Super Bowl, you haven't finished off the season in the right way," Patriots left tackle Matt Light said.

In posting their third Super Bowl victory overall and first in 17 years, the Giants trailed 7-3 at the half, despite limiting the most prolific scoring offense in league history to 81 yards.

New England yielded only 21 sacks during the regular season, but an offensive line stocked with Light and two other Pro Bowlers couldn't contain Justin Tuck, a third-year pro who sacked Brady twice, forced a fumble and led all players with six first-half tackles.

"They made more plays than we did," said Brady, who threw an NFL-record 50 touchdowns in the regular season. "I had a feeling it would come down to us with just a few plays left and we didn't get it done. We just didn't get the ball in the end zone enough."

With Brandon Jacobs and rookie Ahmad Bradshaw combining for 61 yards on the ground, the Giants maintained possession for 19:27 in the first half but couldn't reach the end zone, despite 20 snaps in New England's half of the field.

New York went ahead 3-0 when Lawrence Tynes capped a 16-play drive on the game's first series with a 32-yard field goal, but a special teams breakdown paved the way for the only touchdown of the half.

Laurence Maroney returned the ensuing kickoff 43 yards and Brady moved the Patriots downfield with short completions before facing third-and-10 from the Giants 17.

Tight end Ben Watson got free down the middle and Pierce never turned around during an incompletion, drawing a pass interference flag. Maroney, who finished with only 36 yards on 14 carries, plunged over right guard for the score from a yard out to make it 7-3 on the first snap of the second quarter.

"You have to give it up to the Giants," said New England's Wes Welker, who tied a Super Bowl record with 11 receptions. "Yes, they outexecuted us."

Reporter Ira Kaufman can be reached at (813) 259-7833 or ikaufman@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT