big blue wrecking crew win super bowl XLII

"The Play"



Giant Piece of History; Big Blue Authors Biggest of Upsets

By Paul Schwartz of the New York Post (http://www.nypost.com)

February 4, 2008 -- GLENDALE, Ariz. - The imperfect team picked the perfect time to deny perfection.

There was 2:39 remaining last night in Super Bowl XLII and the New York Giants had fought the good fight, the gallant fight but after all their pummeling of Tom Brady and inspired play they were trailing 14-10 after Brady's touchdown pass to Randy Moss seemed to finally save the Patriots and send the Giants home as lovable losers.

As Eli Manning stepped onto the grass one last time at University of Phoenix Stadium, all along the Giants sideline players were keeping the faith, nearly chanting in unison. "I was thinking about an Eli Manning great comeback," defensive end Justin Tuck said. "We were running up and down the sideline yelling 'Believe'."

Michael Strahan needed more. He screamed, over and over, "17-14!" demanding all within earshot buy in. "I said 'Believe it .... don't just say it, believe it'!"

In the huddle, Manning barely raised his voice.

"We're going to go down and score," he stated.

"We believed in him," guard Chris Snee said. Perhaps that is why they won.

"I'll tell you what," co-owner John Mara said. "It's the greatest victory in the history of this franchise, without question."

Completing an astonishing season with a game for the ages, the Giants shocked the world, denied history and defeated the Patriots 17-14 in a remarkable Super Bowl XLII stunner.

Manning's 13-yard pass to a wide-open Plaxico Burress - who ran past a stumbling cornerback, Ellis Hobbs - with 35 seconds left set the final dagger in one of the greatest contests and upsets in Super Bowl history. Manning directed a 12-play, 83-yard drive - kept alive by a miracle Manning escape and 32-yard pass to a sky-walking David Tyree - to outduel the usually immaculate Brady to win the MVP award that his big brother Peyton won one year ago with the Colts.

"Every team is beatable," said Tom Coughlin, the jubilant comeback coach. "The right moment, the right time, every team is beatable." What was supposed to be the coronation of the Patriots' immaculate 19-0 season instead became one of the most unexpected defeats in this game's storied history. The Pats sought to copyright the 19-0 trademark; instead, they'd better get busy printing up those "18-1" shirts.

"It's unbelievable," Eli Manning said. "It's the fight of this team."

There was no time for the battered Brady to stage a comeback and when rookie Jay Alford dropped Brady for the Giants fifth sack and two more desperation passes fell incomplete, Manning took a final knee and the Giants erupted in celebration.

"They were so relaxed at the end when we were driving down it was unbelievable, like ho-hum, they're going to give it to us and we didn't give them anything," said receiver Amani Toomer, a champion after 12 seasons with the Giants. "During the drive [defensive end] Richard Seymour said to us 'Get ready to go home guys.' I don't care what they say, they were expecting us to crack. We're a tough team in a tough city and that's what we represent."

That city will open its arms and hearts to the Giants tomorrow will a ticker-tape parade. "They moved the parade from Boston to New York City!" exclaimed Strahan, who came back for a 15th season and soon will be fitted for a championship ring.

"We shocked the world," Antonio Pierce said. "But not ourselves."

The Giants (14-6) won their record 11th consecutive non-home game after trailing in the final minute, only the second time that has happened in the 42-year history of the Super Bowl. They deserved everything they got, often dominating with an always fearsome, relentless defensive posse that limited the most prolific offense in NFL history to 274 total yards.

Burress last week boldly predicted to The Post that the Giants would win 23-17 and he actually shortchanged his defensive teammates. "I opened my big mouth last week," Burress said. "I put a little pressure on the defense; if it wasn't for the defense we wouldn't have even been in the game."

Never did the Giants look in awe. They took a 3-0 lead with a opening drive of nearly 10 minutes but were wasteful in the red zone and trailed 7-3 at halftime. That's the way it stood after three quarters, with Strahan and Tuck and Osi Umenyiora applying lethal pressure on Brady, dealing with Moss but barely slowing Wes Welker.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Manning found rookie tight end Kevin Boss on a 45-yard catch-and-run, hit rookie Steve Smith for 17 more and finally found Tyree - who did not have a scoring catch all season - on a strike over the middle for a 5-yard touchdown pass. With 11:05 remaining the Giants led 10-7.

The proud Patriots responded Brady drove them 80 yards and when cornerback Corey Webster slipped, Moss had an easy 6-yard scoring catch with 2:42 to go. Perfection was there for the taking, but Manning had other ideas. Manning hit Toomer for 11 yards. Brandon Jacobs on fourth down picked up the first down. And then, on third-and-5, Manning was all-but sacked, in the clutches of Seymour and Jarvis Green and the Giants were finished. "I don't know how he got out of there," Seymour said.

No one knew, but he did, escaping and floating a pass that Tyree had no business catching, but he did, out-leaping Rodney Harrison on the New England 24. A sideline pass to Smith set up the play heard around the world, as Burress made Hobbs and the Patriots pay for defending him with one player.

"Nobody thought we could do it," an emotional Toomer said.

They did it.