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| Eli Manning celebrates another title. |
GIANTS 21, PATRIOTS 17
Now the Giants PR staff can post "Giants: Super Bowl Champions" on the Giants website because the New York Giants are NFL world champions for the second time in five years.
Once again Eli Manning drove the Giants down field in the final minutes, and, once again, Tom Brady came up small in the final seconds as the Giants beat the Patriots 21-17. While this game was not a classic nor as dramatic as Super Bowl XLII, it was still an incredible victory for Big Blue.
As for the Patriots, they will regret one big play. With New England facing a 2nd and 11 at the Giants 44, Brady had Wes Welker wide open for a first down at the Giants 20, but the usually sure-handed receiver dropped the pass, forcing a third down. Brady then, threw another incompletion on third down, forcing New England to punt.
At that point, Manning took full control. In the building that his brother Peyton built, Eli Manning proved that he is indeed one of the elite quarterbacks in this league. On first and ten at the Giants own 12 yard line, Manning rolled to his left and found Mario Manningham streaking down the sideline, heavily covered by two corners. Manningham made the catch down the sideline, keeping both feet in bounds for the first down near midfield.
Later, Manning him Manningham again, this time for 16 yards; then he found Hakeem Nicks for 14 more at the Patriots 18. With the clock ticking down, the Patriots decided to let the Giants score, as Ahmad Bradshaw went backwards into the end zone for the score to give Big Blue a 21-17 lead.
The strategy for New England was very similar to that of the Green Bay Packers back in Super Bowl XXXII, allow your opponent to score and thereby give yourself time to come back and score. Only problem was the Patriots forgot that the Packers lost a game with that strategy. Brady had Deion Branch and Aaron Hernandez open, but they all dropped passes before Brady was sacked, forcing a fourth down. Brady completed his next pass to Branch for a first down, but after that, time was running out on New England. Three straight incompletions, including a desperation throw into the end zone cost the Patriots any hope of victory, and the Giants held on to win.
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| Tom Brady walks off in defeat, again. |
The Giants defense sacked Brady twice; they never allowed the quarterback to make big plays to his tight ends, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Even Branch, Ochocinco and Welker had quiet days for the Patriots. On the verso, while it wasn't the kind of performance we have seen from the Giants in their previous Super Bowl against this Patriots team, it was still a solid effort by this unit.
The win now changes the legacies of Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning. Much maligned by Giants fans who booed and heckled both throughout their careers in New York, they now sport two Super Bowl rings on their resumes. Coughlin, you can now argue, is a Hall of Fame coach; he created a solid team in Jacksonville, and led the Giants to two miraculous Super Bowl runs.
As for Manning, he is only getting better. He was very solid for the Giants, completing 75 percent of his passes for 296 yards. He was deadly accurate with his throws, threading the needle throughout the game, and he was completely poised. While he may not have the numbers his brother does, he has one more Super Bowl ring than Peyton, and one can argue he is one of the best fourth quarter quarterbacks in football today.
Giants fans who have called for the heads of both of these men, need to keep their mouths shut and thank them for bringing them two Super Bowl titles.
So now all the die-hard Giants fans, and bandwagon hoppers, can jump in the streets as the Giants are World Champions. The parade will be Tuesday in New York City.
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