As usual, Vince Lombardi said it best. The aforementioned quote perfectly summarized the New York Giants after beating the New England Patriots in Superbowl XLVI 21-17. Battered, bruised, but victorious none the less.
This game was the finest hour for many of the New York Giants. Justin Tuck played perhaps his best game of the 2011-2012 season in the game that mattered most. Eli Manning stood on the same plain as Tom Brady and proved he belonged. Hakeen Nicks had 10 catches for 109 yards. Jason Pierre Paul knocked down two passes as if his arms were fly swatters. Linebacker Chase Blackburn had a key interception on a poorly thrown ball. Running back Ahmad Bradshaw had 72 yards rushing and the only rushing touchdown of the game. And of these four impact players for the 2012 Superbowl winners, only Blackburn and Bradshaw were on the 2008 Giants team that blemished the Patriots perfect season.
But that painful chapter of Patriots history had been written; this time the outcome was supposed to be different. Tom Brady was the constant, but his surrounding cast had been made over since the perfect season that was not. Randy Moss was replaced by the dynamic duo of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. The horrendous Lawrence Maroney was replaced by the fumble proof BenJarvis Green-Ellis. The once vaunted Patriots defense of the past withered away to the bare pads and cleats of a unit held together by duct tape and string. And the Patriots had the collective memories of Myra Kraft providing the players and coaches with a greater purpose to win than just a record.
But as the game wore on, something happened. The field position, the mood, even to an extent the play calling reverted backwards. Almost as if Superbowl XLII had been a remade movie; you know, like the Hangover Part II. Virtually the same star cast, a few different situations that were different form the first, but the ending was the same. Like 2008, the first half was completely dominated by the Giants; even though the Patriots lead on the scoreboard. Like in 2008, the Patriots regained the lead in the second half. Yet, unfortunately for New England, like 2008, the Giants drove down the field with their last possession and delivered the kill-shot that knocked the wind out of both the Patriots, and their fans. Even down to the final similarities of where the Pats were on the field and how much time was left on their last drive were haunted by the ghosts of 18-1.
But perhaps the most painful similarity that the New England Patriots took away from their defeat was the image of the opposing quarterback raising his second Superbowl MVP trophy.
Eli Manning and the Giants beat Tom Brady and the Patriots for the second consecutive time in Superbowl play. The other Manning threw for more yards, had a higher quarterback rating, and one fewer interception than Brady did. Manning was sacked more times than Brady; and Peyton's little brother was hit more times than the golden boy.
But none of that seemed to matter.
Manning completed his first nine passes in a row. Eli lasered his lone touchdown pass of the game past a Patriot linebacker. The other Manning delivered a perfect rainbow to Mario Manningham down the sideline on the last drive of the game. For the second straight Superbowl against the Pats, Eli Manning was the better quarterback. And for the second time in four years, it was Eli's team, not Brady's, and not Peyton's, that stood at the summit of football's highest mountain.
And for the second time in his career, Tom Brady was looking up at Eli Manning. Brady only had two really terrible plays; an intentional grounding at the beginning of the game, and the deep interception that never should have been thrown. The Patriots quarterback avoided the sack by throwing the ball 45 yards down field to nobody in that general area of the field; because Brady was in the box and the Patriots were inside their own 15 yard line, the call was a safety that gave the Giants a lead. On the deep throw, the decision making by a normally thorough quarterback was horrid. Not only did Brady air mail a pass to a tight end who spent the entire night running on a peg leg, but the golden boy severely underthrew his target. In the biggest game of the season, Tom Brady, or any other quarterback for that matter, made two bad mistakes that were too big to avoid.
Still, after the two weeks of pregame talks came to a close, the Giants and Patriots proved that they were both who we thought they were. The Giants were the hot team that rode a five game winning streak all the way to the top of the football world. Big blue killed a ten win Atlanta Falcons team, beat the 15-1 Green Bay Packers, and pulled out a thriller in San Francisco just to get to Indianapolis. In contrast, the Patriots had not beaten a team with a winning record in the regular season and finished 1-2 against teams with winning records including the playoffs in 2011-2012. In the playoffs, the Pats beat a vastly inferior Denver team and the ghost of Myra Kraft pushed Billy Cundiff's kick off to the left. The Giants were a better team going into the Superbowl and after the game, got the rings to prove it.
Aside from the depressing lack of funny Superbowl commercials and Madonna being outshined by her own backup dancers, the game itself was an exciting ending to a captivating season. The Giants and Patriots each left everything they had on that field. Both teams traded touchdowns, great catches, and big stops on third down as the game went into the final quarter. From a statistical standpoint, Manning and Brady traded punches like prize fighters. This game had almost everything that a third party football fan would have wanted to see from the Superbowl. And despite the hurt the New England area felt afterwards, a good game was more important to entertain the masses than either team getting a blowout win.
So with a captivating game in the books the time has come to bid so long to the NFL for now, and celebrate another successful year and the Superbowl Champion New York Giants.
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