Inhistoric.com: The Sports History Blog

The two competitors in Super Bowl XLII took very different paths in getting to the big game. The New York Giants, a year off the retirement of Tiki Barber, appeared to be in disarray at the start of the season. Players such as Michael Strahan, who at the last minute decided to come back for a final season, appeared to despise head coach Tom Coughlin. The team started out 0-2 and were trailing in Week 3 to the Redskins; Coughlin, with a precarious one-year contract, could've been fired at any moment. But the Giants hammered out a win against the Redskins and won six straight to advance to the postseason.

Aside from the Spygate scandal at the beginning of the season, the Patriots' year was flawless. New England was 18-0 and had set nearly every offensive record imaginable. A win in Super Bowl XLII would guarantee their legacy as the greatest football team of all time.

The anticipation of seeing New England go 19-0 made this Super Bowl the most watched in history, with over 97.5 million viewers.

New England came in as a twelve-point favorite, though they appeared to weaken as the season went on. In the AFC Championship Game against the Chargers, Tom Brady played through a bum ankle as the Pats' offense scored only 21 points, their lowest total of the season. They won that game but did not come off as a team with a perfect record. Afterwards, Brady was seen walking down a New York City street wearing a cast on his right foot.

Super Bowl XLII ended as the most watched football contest ever, with a record 97.5 million viewers -- it doesn't mean the first part of the game was all that interesting. What was expected to be a shootout became the lowest-scoring first half in Super Bowl history, with New England leading 7-3. It was especially surprising since the two teams scored a combined 73 points when they faced each other a month earlier.

Tom Brady's highly scrutinized right ankle appeared to be a hindrance as the Giants bull-rushed him the entire game. The Patriots' offensive line gave Brady no protection and allowed Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, and Justin Tuck to get to him repeatedly.

Neither team scored in the 3rd period, though New England certainly had an opportunity. Midway through the quarter, the Pats were looking at a 49-yard field goal on 4th and 13, yet Bill Belichick decided to go for it anyway. Tom Brady launched it down field to Jabar Gaffney and uncharacteristically threw it over his head. New York's blitzing defense prevented Brady from locating receivers all day; his longest completion of the game was a mere 19 yards.

In the 4th period, Eli Manning connected with a pair of rookies to drive the Giants down field. TE Kevin Boss, filling in for the broken leg of Jeremy Shockey, completed his only catch of the day: a 45-yarder to put the Giants in New England territory. Manning then hooked up with rookie Steve Smith to move them into the red zone. Finally, a 5-yard touchdown pass to David Tyree gave New York a 10-7 lead with 11:05 left.

Both New England and New York punted on their next possessions, leaving the ball in Brady's hands with 7:54 remaining. The facilitator of many past comebacks, Brady drove his team down field in impressive fashion. It was great timing for the New England offense to finally get it together. There was 2:42 on the clock when Brady hooked up with Randy Moss, who jumped into the air to secure the touchdown. The Patriots were up 14-10.

It was now Eli's turn to make the game-winning play. Peyton Manning's brother had sustained a myriad of complaints in his four years in New York. Analysts such as Tiki Barber grilled him for making game-losing interceptions and for frequently disappearing in the 4th period. He was on Sports Illustrated's lists of the least fun and most boring athletes to watch and many thought he was only good for his last name.

Eli was quickly in serious danger of relinquishing the ball and losing the game. The ball was on the Giants' 43 and New York was on 3rd down and 5. That set up one of the greatest plays in the history of the NFL. Manning was in trouble immediately after the snap as the Pats' defense nearly pulled him to the ground; Eli somehow escaped and launched the ball down the field to David Tyree, who was heavily guarded by Rodney Harrison; Tyree pinned the ball to his helmet and came down with a remarkable 32-yard catch.

Three plays later on 3rd and 11, Manning found Steve Smith, who ducked over the first down marker before being shoved out of bounds. Though this play was just as crucial as the previous one, it wasn't nearly as dramatic or memorable.

The cou de gras occurred with 35 ticks left on the scoreboard. Plexico Burress, coming off a terrific 11-catch game in the NFC Championship Game, had only one reception so far. Manning lobbed it to Burress in the corner of the end zone, and was all alone for the TD. Lawrence Tynes nailed the extra point, and for the first time all season, New England trailed with under 40 seconds left in a game.

Starting on their own 25, the Patriots had 29 seconds and three timeouts to attempt the field goal that they should've kicked in the third quarter. Brady's first pass was once again over the head of Gaffney. There was no pass on the next play, as Jay Alford got to Brady and sent him to the ground, forcing the Pats to use a timeout.

Now on 3rd and 20 with 19 seconds left, Brady went for the longball to the receiver who made enormous catches all year. He cannoned the ball nearly 60 yards down the field but was broken up right as reached Randy Moss. With the perfect record on the line, Brady attempted it to Moss for a final time. The ball was slapped out of bounds, leaving the Patriots helpless and the Giants with a pair of seconds to become champions.

However the clock operator, who might have been a Giants fan, let the time run down to zero. The clock then bounced back to one second remaining (as though someone realized the mistake), again to zero seconds, then back to one second left, where the clock finally stood.

In the confusion, Patriots coach Bill Belichick ran out and congratulated Tom Coughlin at mid-field. The officials ushered Belichick back to the sideline so the final second could be completed. But Belichick didn't wait to stick around and left the field with time still on the clock. (He was later blasted for displaying bad sportsmanship.)

Eli Manning received the snap and knelt down as the clock ticked to triple-zeros. When he stood up, the Giants had won 17-14 in one of the largest upsets in NFL history. Manning was named the MVP, although many people felt that someone on the defense, mainly Justin Tuck, should have won the award. For the Giants it was their eleventh consecutive victory away from home, which made their Super Bowl victory all the more remarkable.

After the game, everyone tried to assess where this game ranked among the other Super Bowls. It probably featured the most exciting 4th quarter, what with three different lead changes. The Manning-Tyree play was anointed as the greatest Super Bowl play ever since it occurred when it did. The upset, while not considered greater than the Jets' stunner over Baltimore in Super Bowl III, was certainly up there. After all, the Patriots hadn't lost a regular season game since 2006.

With the MVP trophy, Manning ultimately silenced his New York critics. Never again would he would be attacked for not living up to his brother's stature. Tom Coughlin was given a 4-year contract extension, just one year after losing to the Eagles in the postseason, of which he appeared destined to get fired. Tiki Barber, who retired a year shy of winning it all, became a reviled figure in New York for his criticisms of Coughlin and Manning. Strahan, who did not retire and thus won his first championship, retired in the offseason.

The biggest question of the big game was where New England's place in history would be. Through the regular season and beyond, the Pats were arguably the greatest team ever, and maybe that argument can still be made since they had beaten the Giants earlier in the year. Sometimes the best team doesn't always win. But as for the greatest season ever, that claim (grudgingly) belonged to the 1972 Miami Dolphins, who remained the only team to go undefeated through the Super Bowl.