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The Giants had the perfect answer for the
suddenly imperfect Patriots -- a big, bad defense and an improbable
comeback led by their own Mr. Cool quarterback, Eli Manning.

In one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history, New York
shattered New England's unbeaten season 17-14 Sunday night as
Manning hit Plaxico Burress on a 13-yard fade with 35 seconds left.
It was the Giants' 11th straight victory on the road, and the first
time the Patriots tasted defeat in more than a year.


It was the most bitter of losses, too, because 12-point favorite
New England (18-1) was one play from winning, and getting the
ultimate revenge for being penalized for illegally taping
opponents' defensive signals in the season-opener against the New
York Jets.

      But its defense couldn't stop a final, frantic 12-play, 83-yard
drive that featured a spectacular leaping catch by David Tyree, who
had scored New York's first touchdown on the opening drive of the
fourth quarter.

      "It's the greatest feeling in professional sports," Burress
said before bursting into tears.

      "That's a position you want to be in," said Manning, who
followed older brother Peyton's MVP performance last year with one
of his own. "You can't write a better script. There were so many
big plays on that drive."

      And now the 1972 Miami Dolphins can pop another bottle of
champagne in celebration of a record still intact, the only perfect
season in the Super Bowl era.

      The Patriots were done in not so much by the pressure of the
first unbeaten season in 35 years as by the pressure of a
smothering Giants pass rush. 

Tom Brady, the league's Most Valuable
Player and winner of his first three Super Bowls, was sacked five
times, hurried a dozen more and at one point wound up on his knees,
his hands on his hips following one of many poor throws in New
England's lowest scoring game of the season.

      "They played well," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "They
made some plays. We made some plays. They just made a few more. We
played as hard as we could. We just couldn't make enough plays."

      Hardly a familiar position for the record-setting Patriots and
their megastar quarterback. This time, it wasn't the Patriots but
the Giants making the game-winning rally. This time, the
unflappable quarterback making the clutch play wasn't Brady but
Manning, who had been booed by Giants fans for most of his four
seasons for a lack of emotion.

      Oddly, it was a loss to the Patriots that sparked New York's
stunning run to its third Super Bowl and sixth NFL title. New
England won 38-35 in Week 17 as the Patriots became the first team
in 35 years to go spotless through the regular season. But by
playing hard in a meaningless game for them, the Giants (14-6)
gained something of a swagger and Manning found his footing.

      Their growing confidence carried them through playoff victories
at Tampa, Dallas and Green Bay, and then past the mightiest
opponent of all.

      Not that the Patriots were very mighty this day. They even
conceded with 1 second on the clock as coach Bill Belichick ran
across the field to shake the hand of jubilant Giants coach Tom
Coughlin, then headed to the locker room, ignoring the final
kneeldown.

      That it was Manning taking that knee was stunning. He not only
matched his brother's achievement of last year with the
Indianapolis Colts, but he showed the brilliant precision late in
the game usually associated with, well, Brady.

      Peyton Manning was seen in a luxury box jumping up and pumping
both fists when Burress, who didn't practice all week because of
injuries, caught the winning score.

      "We just hung in there on offense, kept executing," said
Burress, who wasn't far off on the 23-17 prediction he made a few
days ago. "It came down to one play and we made 
it."

      The Giants became the first NFC wild card team to win a Super
Bowl; four AFC teams have done it. They also are the second
wild-card champions in three years, following the Pittsburgh
Steelers after the 2005 season.

      The upset also could be viewed as a source of revenge not only
for the Giants, but for the other NFL teams over Spygate back in
September. That cheating scandal made headlines again late in Super
Bowl week, and could have placed an infinite cloud over New
England's perfection.

      Until the frantic fourth quarter, the only scoring came on the
game's first two drives.

      The Giants did almost exactly what they sought with the opening
kickoff, using up nearly 10 minutes to go 63 yards. Almost exactly,
but not quite, because they settled for a 32-yard field goal after
converting four third downs on the 16-play series. The 9:59 drive
was the longest in Super Bowl history.

      That 3-0 lead lasted for the rest of the quarter, but only
because the Patriots were stopped at New York's 1 as the period
expired. On the next play, Laurence Maroney scored.

      New England's 12-play drive was aided by a 16-yard pass
interference penalty on linebacker Antonio Pierce in the end zone.
It began with Maroney's 43-yard kickoff runback.

      It was the fewest possessions in the first quarter of a Super
Bowl.

      New York's first series of the second quarter looked dangerous
after Amani Toomer's lunging sideline catch for 38 yards. But
rookie Steve Smith mishandled Manning's throw at the New England
10, Ellis Hobbs intercepted and returned it 23 yards.

      Those are opportunities teams can't waste against a strong
opponent, let alone the Patriots. It was Manning's first
interception of the postseason, albeit entirely not his fault; the
last was by Hobbs in the season finale.

      The Giants survived rookie Ahmad Bradshaw's fumble, which he
recovered, on their next series, because their league-leading pass
rush came alive when the Patriots got the ball back. 

New York
sacked Brady on successive plays, forcing a punt, but the Giants'
were hurt by an illegal batting of the ball penalty on Bradshaw
after reaching the New England 25.

      Justin Tuck's second sack, in the final seconds of the half,
forced a fumble recovered by New York teammate Osi Umenyiora. The
Giants' celebrated defensive line controlled much of the half,
holding the most prolific offense in NFL history to a measly 81
yards and seven points. New England had the ball only 10:33.

      But New York's mistakes left it with just three -- and there are
no moral victories in Super Bowls.

      So the Giants got a real one as the maturing Manning hung in to
find Tyree for a 5-yard touchdown to cap an 80-yard drive for a
10-7 lead.

      Pressed unlike they are accustomed to, the Patriots responded
with their own 80-yard march as Brady finally got some time. Randy
Moss, who caught a record 23 of Brady's record 50 TD throws this
year, took a 6-yard pass when cornerback Corey Webster fell, and
with a mere 2:42 remaining, the first 19-0 season was right there.

      Eli and the Giants snatched it away.

Gallery

Sports

The Giants had the perfect answer for the
suddenly imperfect Patriots -- a big, bad defense and an improbable
comeback led by their own Mr. Cool quarterback, Eli Manning.


NY Giants stun Patriots to Super Bowl victory

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