For the 2nd time in as many tries the Giants knocked off the Patriots in the big game. New York opened the game with a drive to the Patriots 33-yard line, threatening to score first. After giving up a 19-yard reception to Giants wide receiver]] Hakeem Nicks, New England's defense stepped up to prevent a score: Linebacker Brandon Deaderick sacked Eli Manning for a 2-yard loss, then Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw was tackled behind the behind the line of scrimmage on a blitz by Patriots cornerback Kyle Arrington. On third down, New England defensive end Mark Anderson sacked Manning, pushing the Giants out of field goal range and forcing a Giants' punt.
New York got a boost from punter Steve Weatherford, whose 36-yard kick pinned the Pats back at their own 6-yard line. On the Patriots first offensive play, Tom Brady attempted a play action pass, but a heavy rush from Giants defensive lineman Justin Tuck forced a deep throw into the middle of the field, with no receiver anywhere near it. As a result, Brady was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone, which results in a two-point safety, giving New York a 2-0 lead. It was the first safety in a championship game since Super Bowl XLIII. After receiving the free kick, New York drove 78 yards in 9 plays — including a key 24-yard run by Ahmad Bradshaw — and increased their lead to 9-0 on two-yard Manning touchdown pass to Victor Cruz.
On the ensuing drive, Tom Brady completed passes to BenJarvus Green-Ellis for 7 yards, Deion Branch for 15, and Wes Welker for 19, moving the ball to the Giants' 31-yard line. New York managed to halt the drive at their own 11-yard line, but Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 29-yard field goal for New England's first score early in the second quarter.
The Giants punted on the next drive, then held the Patriots to a three-and-out. When New York's next drive stalled, Weatherford's 51-yard punt gave the Patriots possession 4-yard line. Brady, however, completed eight consecutive passes for 71 yards, and threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to running back Danny Woodhead, giving the Patriots a 10-9 halftime lead. The drive went for 14 plays and covered 96 yards, tying the record for the longest drive in Super Bowl history.
New England took the second half kickoff and started out strong: Brady completed a 21-yard pass to Chad Ochocinco (his first reception of the postseason), and two rushes by Green-Ellis gained 25 yards to the New York 33-yard line. Brady finished the 8-play, 79-yard drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass to tight end Aaron Hernandez, increasing New England's lead to 17-9.
Starting the following drive from their own 35-yard line, New York responded with a drive to the Patriots 20-yard line where Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes converted a 38-yard field goal, cutting the score to 17-12.
On the next drive, New York forced a three-and-out — including a Justin Tuck sack of Brady on third down — and New York started their next drive in the Patriots' territory. New York subsequently drove back into scoring range on a drive that utilized several different players, including a 12-yard reception by seldom used tight end Bear Pascoe to reacsh the New England 9-yard line. On third down, however, a sack by New England's Anderson and Rob Ninkovich forced New York to settle for another Tynes field goal, making the score 17-15 with 35 seconds left in the third quarter.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, the first turnover of the game occurred when Giants linebacker Chase Blackburn picked off a deep Brady pass at the New York 8-yard line. New York then drove to the Patriots 43-yard line, but were stopped there and had to punt. New England took the ball back and drove to the Giants 44-yard line before they too were forced to punt.
The Giants took possession from their own 12-yard line with 3:46 left in the game and only one timeout. On the first play, Manning completed a deep pass along the left sideline to receiver Mario Manningham for a 38-yard gain to midfield. New England coach Bill Belichick challenged the catch, but call on the field stood and it cost him his team's first timeout. Two more completions from Manning to Manningham gained another 18 yards. Manning then completed a 14-yard pass to Nicks on the New England 18-yard line at the two minute warning. Two plays later, New England called their second timeout with 1:03 left after Bradshaw's 1-yard run gave New York a 2nd down and goal on the 6-yard line.
Rather then try to stop New York any further and risk the game on a short field goal attempt from Tynes, New England allowed Bradshaw to run into the end zone on the next play unobstructed. Bradshaw attempted to pull up and stop on the 1 yard line, but his forward momentum caused him to fall across the goal line, giving New York a 21-17 lead and New England 58 seconds and a timeout for their final drive. New York failed a two-point conversion attempt, leaving the Giants with a four-point lead with less than one minute remaining.
New England started at their own 20-yard line to make what would be the final drive of the game. After two consecutive dropped passes, a 6-yard sack by Tuck forced New England to use their last timeout facing fourth down and 16 on their own 14-yard line. But Brady kept the drive going with a 19-yard completion to receiver Deion Branch. An 11-yard completion from Brady to Hernandez advanced the ball to the Pats' 44, followed by a twelve-men on the field penalty against the Giants, which moved the ball to the Patriots' 49 with 9 seconds left. After an incomplete pass, on the game's final play, Brady thew a Hail Mary pass intended for Hernandez in the end zone, but the ball was deflected away and hit the ground just out of the reach of tight end Rob Gronkowski, giving New York their fourth Super Bowl win in franchise history.
Bradshaw was the top rusher of the game with 72 yards and a touchdown, also catching two passes for 19 yards. Nicks was the top receiver with 10 receptions for 109 yards. Blackburn, who had been cut by the Giants earlier in the season before being re-signed, had 6 total tackles and an interception. Tuck made 3 tackles and two sacks. For New England, Brady completed 27 of 41 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. His top target with Hernandez, who caught 8 passes for 67 yards and one score. Welker added 7 receptions for 60 yards and two carries for 21. Gronkowski, who came into Super Bowl XLVI battling an ankle injury, was held to just two receptions for 26 yards. Linebackers Jerod Mayo and Brandon Spikes each had 8 solo tackles, 3 assists, and a forced fumble.
With the win the Giants became the fifth team to win at least four Super Bowls, while the Patriots became the third to lose four. Brady has yet to win in Lucas Oil Stadium as a professional and has not won a game in Indianapolis since 2007, when the Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts on their way to a perfect regular season. Belichick dropped to 3-2 as a head coach in the Super Bowl, while Tom Coughlin won his second Super Bowl in as many tries.
Dan Shaughnessy said in a piece in The Boston Globe about Boston on the loss by the Giants under the headline, "History Repeats:" "Instead of celebrating a grand slam–championships in every major sport over a period of four years and four months–New Englanders are spitting out pieces of their broken luck, bracing for the avalanche of grief from those annoying New Yorkers."
I really can't figure this game out some times. You would have thought that the Patriots would have learned from the last meeting between these two ball clubs. The big play of the game was the Manningham catch on the Giants last drive. That grab kept the drive going and was somewhat reminicent of the David Tyree catch from the game back in 08. No I'm not taking anything away from Manningham on this grab I'm really not, but I just feel the Tyree catch was greater, and for two reasons: 1) the way Eli Manning was able to escape the pressure from the Pats front four and still getting that pass off, and 2) Tyree made the catch off his helmet and still held onto the ball. Granted Manningham had to do almost a tightrop walk on the sideline to keep both feet in bounds, he wasn't catching a football off his helmet.
So congrautlations are in order to the Super Bowl 46 Champion 9-7 New York Giants, who once again help giove the city of New York, and underdogs everywhere, a little bit more hope!
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