Giants stun Pats in Super Bowl XLII

Glendale, AZ (Sports Network) - Eli Manning's 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds left in the fourth quarter boosted the New York Giants to one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history, a 17-14 victory over the previously unbeaten New England Patriots.

New York (14-6) came into Super Bowl XLII as 12-point underdogs, but still managed to win the title for the first time since the 1990 season, all while preventing perfection by the Patriots (18-1). New England's loss means the 1972 Miami Dolphins remain the only team in league annals to finish unbeaten and untied on the way to winning the Super Bowl.

Frustrated all game by the New York defense, Tom Brady finally found his favorite record-breaking target, throwing six yards to Randy Moss with 2:42 left in the fourth quarter to give the Patriots a 14-10 lead.

David Tyree, who caught a five-yard TD pass with 11:05 left in the final quarter, then kept New York's incredible 12-play, 83-yard go-ahead drive alive with a great catch. Manning did his part, escaping a potential sack from Jarvis Green, spinning free and lofting the ball 32 yards to Tyree to the New England 24 on a 3rd-and-5 play. In the middle of the field, Tyree leaped in the air, and amazingly with one hand on the ball at the top of his helmet, fended off safety Rodney Harrison to come down with the catch.

Earlier in the drive, Brandon Jacobs converted a 4th-and-1 with a two-yard plunge to the New York 39.

On 3rd-and-11, Manning threw 12 yards to Steve Smith at the 13 near the right sideline. On the next play, Burress got behind cornerback Ellis Hobbs and caught the high-arching pass from Manning in the left corner of the end zone. It was Burress' second catch of the day.

"We believed in ourselves all year," said Manning, who was named the game's MVP. "That's the position you want to be in. You want to have the ball in your hands. That's where you want to be, a chance to win the game. So many big plays on that drive."

Brady, a two-time Super Bowl MVP and the league's reigning regular season MVP, wasn't able to move the Pats in the final seconds.

"When we came in here we knew what we had to do. We had to get after the quarterback, and the response we got out of our team was unbelievable," said Giants coach Tom Coughlin, whose team had an incredible rebound after losing their first two games of the season, giving up 80 points in the process.

Manning finished the game completing 19-of-34 passes for 255 yards and was picked off once.

Brady connected on 29-of-48 passes for 266 yards, while Wes Welker tied a Super Bowl record with 11 receptions, totaling 103 yards. The Patriots, who were held to 81 yards in the first half, ended with 274, which was 64 less than the Giants.

"We played as hard as we could, we just didn't make enough plays," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.

The Giants nearly ended the Patriots' run for perfection in the final week of the regular season, but lost 38-35 at home. In this game, New York's defensive line, led by the tandem of Michael Strahan and Justin Tuck, frustrated Brady, sacking him five times.

"I remember hearing somebody say the Giants got a false sense of confidence from the first time we played (the Patriots)," Strahan said while holding the Lombardi Trophy after the game. "No! We got confidence. My guys are the best in the world!"

The Giants made it to the big game following the 2000 season, but were blown out by Baltimore. However, on this night, the Giants' road show finished with perfection, 11 straight away victories to end the season, an NFL record. It was their third Super Bowl title, also joining the 1986 team.

Coughlin's squad became just the second team to win the Super Bowl following four straight playoff wins away from their home facility, joining the 2005 Steelers. On the way, the Giants beat the Buccaneers (24-14), Cowboys (21-17), and Packers (23-20 in overtime) before knocking off the Patriots, holding New England to a season low in points.

"They had a very good game plan, they executed it very well," Brady. "Three- point win - we're usually on the better side of those three-point wins."

After winning Super Bowls following the 2001, 2003, and 2004 season, the Pats were trying to become just the second team in NFL history to win four titles in a seven-year span. The Pittsburgh Steelers (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979), who won four world championships in six years, are the only club to pull off the feat.

After a tumultuous season which saw the evolution of Spygate, the Patriots set all sorts of NFL records, but in the end couldn't overcome a tenacious New York defense.

For a second straight year, a Manning has won a Super Bowl. Indianapolis QB Peyton Manning raised the Lombardi Trophy a year ago in a win over Chicago. The elder Manning was at the stadium, cheering on his brother, and witnessed one of the biggest upsets in the Super Bowl, rivaling New England's win over the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI when the Patriots were 14-point underdogs.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, tight end Kevin Boss caught a 45-yard pass over the middle to the New England 35. A 17-yard connection to Smith moved the ball to the 12 and two plays later Tyree made a catch in the middle of the end zone.

Both teams then exchanged punts, and Moss, who set an NFL record with 23 TD catches during the regular season, gave the Patriots the lead with his TD grab after cornerback Corey Webster fell down in the right side of the end zone to cap a 12-play, 80-yard drive.

However, Brady couldn't engineer a last-second rally as the Patriots failed to get another first down, with a deep pass to Moss on 4th-and-20 falling incomplete with a second left.

The Giants were able to keep Brady off the field for most of the first quarter, thanks to a 16-play, 63-yard drive, and scored on a 32-yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes. The Giants ate nearly 10 minutes off the clock on the first possession, and during the march they converted four third downs. Manning was on target, completing 5-of-7 passes for 38 yards on the drive.

Laurence Maroney ran one yard into the end zone on the first play of the second quarter to give the Patriots a 7-3 lead. A pass interference penalty on Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce in the end zone on third down got the Patriots to the 1, but New York stuffed Maroney on a carry as the quarter came to an end. However, Maroney scored on the first play of the second.

Manning was picked off for the first time this postseason on the ensuing possession, as the Giants were in the red zone. The ball went off the hands of a falling Smith and into the hands of Hobbs, who raced 23 yards to the New England 33.

However, New York's defense was equal to the task, stopping Maroney for a loss on 3rd-and-1 the following possession.

A botched handoff from Manning to rookie Ahmad Bradshaw seemed to account for the second turnover of the game, but Bradshaw ripped the ball away from linebacker Pierre Woods in a pile-up. The Giants were forced to punt after an ensuing incomplete pass.

The Giants defensive front line then took over, sacking Brady on consecutive plays, forcing a punt. Kawika Mitchell first got to Brady on second down, and then it was Tuck's turn on 3rd-and-17, as the pocket collapsed quickly on Brady.

Manning fumbled after being sacked from behind by Adalius Thomas with under three minutes remaining in the half. Bradshaw was given a penalty for illegally batting the ball forward, as it was recovered by Smith. Manning's pass on 3rd-and-18 fell incomplete with 1:54 left, and the Patriots got the ball back following a punt, but New York's defense stood tall again.

Brady was sacked from behind by Tuck, and Osi Umenyiora recovered for New York at its own 44. Manning though threw two incomplete passes to end the half, the last one landing in the end zone.

Just as the Giants chewed up most of the first quarter, the Patriots held the ball for the first 8:17 of the third. With 11 minutes left in the period, the Patriots were forced to punt. However, after the Giants got the ball and during a television-timeout, Belichick challenged that the Giants had 12 men on the field. Replays showed Chase Blackburn failed to get off the field in time, and the Pats were given a first down at the New York 39.

The Patriots advanced as far as the 25, but Brady was sacked by Strahan, and then on 4th-and-13 Brady threw incomplete out of the end zone.

Game Notes
Brady had his record-breaking 85th career Super Bowl completion on a connection to Kevin Faulk in the third quarter...Moss finished with five catches for 62 yards, while Faulk had seven receptions for 52 yards...Maroney rushed 14 times for 36 yards...Jacobs had 14 carries for 42 yards, and Bradshaw ran nine times for 45 yards for the Giants, while Amani Toomer had six catches for 84 yards...The two combined possessions in the first quarter are the fewest in Super Bowl history.
 

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