The New England Patriots were one win away from having a perfect, undefeated season. There was only one obstacle left for the Patriots to overcome: the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. Instead of running over another football team like they had done eighteen times during the season, the Patriots ran right into an unstoppable Giants defense.
The Giants’ defense was the key to their success against the Patriots, as they held a team that scored an average of thirty-six points per game in the regular season to just fourteen in the Super Bowl.
Eli Manning was also on his game as he threw two touchdown passes and threw for over 200 yards. The Giants came to the Super Bowl with an unquestionable desire to win, and they did just that.
The Giant’s first drive lasted 9:59 which is now the longest drive in Super Bowl history, and now the New York Giants are the ones breaking records.
The Patriots quickly answered, however. The biggest play of New England’s first drive resulted from a pass interference penalty against the Giants which put Patriots right on the goal line.
From there it was academic as Laurence Maroney practically walked in for the touchdown and the Patriots took a 7-3 lead over the Giants to begin the second quarter.
The second and third quarters of the game were uneventful as both teams were unable to find a way to score. The fourth quarter was when all the action really heated up. The Giants were on offense to begin the fourth quarter and Eli Manning wasted no time getting his team back into the game. Manning’s first play was a 45 yard pass to his tight end, Kevin Boss. Once again, Ahmad Bradshaw managed to plow his way up the field and put the Giants in a scoring position. The Giants would eventually score when Manning found wide receiver David Tyree in the end-zone for a touchdown pass. This score put the Giants up 10-7 to start the fourth quarter.
The Patriots wanted to answer quickly but the Giants defense would not allow it. It was not until the last three minutes of the game that the Patriots would retaliate. On a drive that consisted of just one rushing play, Brady led his team down the field and eventually completed a touchdown pass to his favorite, All-Star receiver, Randy Moss.
With just under three minutes left in the game, the Patriots held a 14-10 lead. Unfortunately for the Patriots that lead would not last. The Giants got the ball back and had one last chance to make a comeback.
The Patriots’ defense put loads of pressure on Eli Manning, but they could not bring him down as he continued to move the ball down the field. With one minute and fifteen seconds left in the game, Manning completed a 32 yard pass to David Tyree in what many fans are referring to as the play of the game. This is certainly hard to argue as it led to a 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress. With just :39 left, the Giants suddenly had a 17-14 lead. That would be all they would need as the Patriots could not find a way to score on their final drive. With one second left, Eli Manning took a knee on the field and thus ended Super Bowl XLII.