Not Again: Giants Beat The Patriots In Another Super Bowl, 21-17

For the second time in four seasons, the New York Giants topped the New England Patriots in a Super Bowl.

New York quarterback Eli Manning (30 of 40, 296 yards, 1 TD) secured his legacy as he picked up his second Super Bowl MVP trophy with a 21-17 Giants victory at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Ironically, the win in Super Bowl 46 gave him more rings (two) than his more overrated choke artist brother Peyton (one), who plays in Indy.

Including the regular season, New York has now beaten New England three straight times and they've scored the winning points in the last minute every instance.

Everyone knew it was a joke that the Patriots (15-4) were favored coming into tonight since the Giants (13-7) not only had their number but they were a more balanced team. The painful part for Pats fans is that despite a shaky defense, not much of a running game and a lack of receivers, this was one they truly let slip away.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (27 of 41, 276 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) and the offense were up 17-15 and driving for another score late in the fourth quarter-a touchdown would have ended it-but Wes Welker (7 catches, 60 yards) dropped a pass that he makes 49 times out of 50. That mistake didn't cost New England the game but when you couple it with Giants receiver Mario Manningham's (5 catches, 73 yards) absurd 38-yard grab on the ensuing drive, they were two of the most pivotal plays in such a tight game.

New York seemed to make a mistake as Ahmad Bradshaw (17 carries, 72 yards) fell into the end zone with 57 seconds left, rather than drop at the one and kill the clock before a chip shot field goal. That ended up being a moot point since with less than a minute, one timeout and no deep threats, Brady couldn't get it done. He converted on 4th-and-16 to Deion Branch (3 catches, 45 yards) for a 19-yard gain but it ended with a hail mary into the end zone that was inches away from Rob Gronkowski's (2 catches, 26 yards) hands.

Speaking of Gronk, without him New England's options in the passing game were limited. Aaron Hernandez (8 catches, 67 yards, TD) played well but he also made a key drop, on the last-minute drive. Danny Woodhead (4 catches, 42 yards, TD) was effective but as expected, Chad Johnson (1 catch, 21 yards) had minimal impact. With Gronkowski clearly hobbled, the Patriots couldn't match the weapons of New York.

Hakeem Nicks (10 catches, 109 yards) was the best skill position player in the game while the Patriots contained Victor Cruz (4 catches, 25 yards, TD) but he did catch a touchdown.

New York owned time of possession-37:05-22:55 thanks to more balance (40 passing attempts, 28 rushing attempts vs. 41 passing attempts, 19 rushing attempts for the Patriots). It also helped that they fumbled three times (!) but recovered two and the other was nullified by too many men on the field for New England. Add in a bad interception by Brady and you start to understand why New York won it; they made virtually all the big plays.

New England spotted New York a quick 9-0 lead as Brady was flagged for intentional grounding out of his own end zone on the Patriots' first play. The Giants drove 78 yards on the ensuing punt and Cruz capped it off with a 2-yard catch.

The Patriots finally got on the board early in the second quarter as Stephen Gostkowski cut it to 9-3 with a 29-yard field goal.

Somehow despite sleeping through the first quarter and not converting in the red zone until the end of the second quarter, the Patriots entered halftime with a 10-9 lead thanks to Woodhead's 4-yard touchdown catch with eight seconds left. It was a stunning turnaround for a team that should have been behind by more but was still in it thanks to their defense.

Since they deferred as always to start the game, the Pats got the ball to begin the second half and looked like a different team after the 30-minute halftime. Hernandez made a 12-yard touchdown catch after breaking a tackle and New England was up 17-9 with 11:20 left in the third.

Who would have thought that would be the final points for the Patriots? Once again, the defense kept them in it as they held the Giants to a pair of field goals (38-yard and 33-yard) and New England led 17-15 heading into the fourth.

Brady forced a deep ball to Gronkowski on the second play of the fourth and it was picked off by Giants linebacker Chase Blackburn. If I'm making excuses, it's easy to say a healthy Gronk at least knocks that down but like in the AFC Championship game against the Ravens, an objective Pats fan has to ask, why did Brady put it up for grabs like that?

It didn't end up costing New England since their defense had one last stop in them before Welker's drop and Manningham's catch (challenged unsuccessfully by Bill Belichick) totally swung the momentum of the game.

The Patriots have the core to make another run at a Super Bowl next season and for the near future as long as Brady and Belichick are still around. Jerod Mayo (11 tackles), Brandon Spikes (11 tackles), Patrick Chung (6 tackles) and Vince Wilfork (3 tackles) are the key pieces to a defense that really came together in the postseason. However, there are a few areas that the team needs to address if they want to reach the next level and not lose their third consecutive Super Bowl.

New England needs to spend money in free agency and they also need to hold onto draft picks or trade up rather than trade down as they usually do. They need wide receivers, cornerbacks, running backs and pass rushers and they needed them yesterday. This loss was certainly painful but when you look at the roster, you realize that Belichick squeezed everything that he could out of this group and they still had a great chance to steal a win. Is there anyone you would rather have with the chance to make a play than Brady and Welker?

There's no reason to lament Gronk's injury since it's football and that comes with the territory. It's damn impressive that he played the entire game but he was only a shell of himself.

The clock is ticking on Brady and Belichick but with the right moves this offseason, there is no reason why this team can't reach this point again. They just better hope that they don't have to go through the Giants since until further notice, New York owns them. There is no way to dispute that, the better team won Super Bowl 46.

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The Patriots Mystique Is Over, They've Become Just Another Team In The NFL

One of the best parts about sports in the modern era is that there are very few dominant teams, meaning that theoretically (unless it's MLB), your favorite team has a chance every season to do something special.

Gone are the days of John Wooden's UCLA Bruins in the 1960s and 70s or the Boston Celtics of the 1960s. From 2001-2008, the New England Patriots were the closest thing to a dynasty that the NFL had seen since the Dallas Cowboys in the 90s.

Eventually, the star players get older and the championship winning coaches begin to lose their touch. Well how else would you describe the current edition of the Pats? Tom Brady is no longer the best quarterback in the NFL and head coach Bill Belichick cannot simply outsmart everyone from week to week and make up for his roster's many shortcomings.

For those reasons and many others, New England (5-3) fell 24-20 to the New York Giants (6-2) this afternoon at Gillette Stadium. This is the first time since 2009 that the Patriots have lost consecutive games and it also snapped a 20-game home win streak (regular season) that dated back to 2008.

It was a strange one, look no further than the halftime score: 0-0 (the first time that's happened this season in the NFL). The Patriots' defense held up their end of the bargain (for once) throughout much of this contest but predictably crumbled when it mattered most (in the fourth quarter). It's hard to single out a single person or even group for blame since Brady (28 for 49, 342 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs, fumble) as much as anyone, made his share of miscues.

If you want to say that Julian Edelman, Tracy White, Sergio Brown, etc. cost New England the game, be my guest. However, keep in mind that they were all backup plans for draft picks (Brandon Tate, Brandon Meriweather, Chad Jackson) that Belichick and Co. have completely bungled in the last few years. Or in White's case, they were forced to play when a thin position (linebacker) was stretched even more due to injuries suffered by Gary Guyton and Brandon Spikes.

Through all the mistakes, Brady and his team looked like they would somehow pull it out when he hit Rob Gronkowski (8 catches, 101 yards) for a 14-yard TD on 4th-and-9 with 1:36. Wes Welker (9 catches, 136 yards) had another outstanding performance but it's clear that him and Gronk are the only two receivers that Brady can really trust. Chad Ochocinco had five targets, each more painful than the last, but he couldn't make one grab. Pathetic.

In a plot that was eerily similar to Super Bowl 42, the Pats left too much time on the clock for Giants quarterback Eli Manning (20 of 39, 250 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT). Thanks to some big plays and costly penalties-one very shaky pass interference call on Kyle Arrington and also an inexcusable pass interference on Brown placed the ball on the 1-yard line. Two plays later, Manning hit Jake Ballard (4 catches, 67 yards) for the deciding score with only 15 seconds on the clock.

The first quarter was completely devoid of anything notable: three punts for New York, two for New England. Spikes crushed Ballard on a key third-down stop.

Brady began the second quarter with a bad pass that was intended for Deion Branch but ended up in the hands of Giants linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka (12 tackles, 6 solo). The Pats defense stood tall and forced a punt rather than allow any points on the short field.

The teams traded punts twice more before the Pats finally moved the ball on offense. Stephen Gostkowski is one of the NFL's top kickers but for whatever reason, not a bad snap or hold, he pushed a 27-yard kick wide. The Giants took a knee to go into halftime scoreless.

Two plays into the first drive of the second half, Brady topped himself with an even worse interception-this time to Deon Grant. The Giants used that momentum swing to get on the board with a 22-yard kick by Lawrence Tynes.

Three plays later, New York linebacker Michael Boley forced a Brady fumble deep in New England territory. Brandon Jacobs (18 carries, 72 yards) scored on a 10-yard TD run on the following play, 10-0 New York.

The Pats moved the ball on the next drive but had to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Gostkowski. Thankfully, this time he made the chippy.

New England's defense kept the momentum on their side by forcing a three-and-out on the ensuing drive. Obviously, Edelman screwed it up by fumbling the punt. However, Arrington covered for him by making his fifth interception of the season. It was a spectacular play as he baited Eli to throw it to Mario Manningham in the corner of the end zone.

The third quarter ended with the Giants ahead 10-3 but the Patriots were driving. Brady tied it by connecting with Aaron Hernandez for a 5-yard catch and run.

New York couldn't do anything on the next drive and had to punt. The Pats went ahead with a 45-yard field goal by Gostkowski.

When it came to winning time, Eli got it done twice while Brady only got one chance to put it away. New York went eight plays for 85 yards and Manning hit Manningham for a pretty 10-yard TD past Arrington.

With 3:03 left, three timeouts and the two-minute warning, it turned out that the Pats had too much time left on the clock. They got it down to the 15 by the time the two-minute warning took effect. After misfiring twice to Gronk, once was his fault and another one was a tough catch, Brady found him with 1:36 left.

Looking often to UMass product Victor Cruz (6 catches, 91 yards), Manning coolly went 80 yards in eight plays. New England got the ball back with 15 seconds left and no timeouts so it was basically over.

The New York Jets (5-3) pasted the Buffalo Bills (5-3) 27-11 earlier today, meaning that there's a three-way tie atop the AFC East. Wouldn't you know, Patriots at Jets is the Sunday Night game next weekend?

So much can change in the NFL in a few short weeks; the Jets looked dead a few weeks back but as always, they've found themselves and are playing better as the season progresses. Conversely, the Pats started out hot but lately, their offense isn't making nearly as many plays while the defense can't be counted on for anything positive.

I don't know why the Patriots abandoned the run so quickly when the Giants have the worst run defense in the league. BenJarvus Green-Ellis (12 carries, 52 yards) looked good and Danny Woodhead (7 carries, 26 yards) finally showed glimpses of the burst he had last season. Good luck figuring out what's happened to rookie Stevan Ridley (3 carries, 10 yards), who was playing so well at the beginning of the season.

Watching Steelers-Ravens tonight made me think even more about New England's utter lack of a defensive playmaker. Vince Wilfork is great but a defensive tackle will never make plays on the same level as a defensive end, linebacker, safety or cornerback. Who can the Patriots count on to do something defensively that's above average? Jerod Mayo is probably still playing through a knee injury but regardless, he hasn't made the leap we expected. Furthermore, Patrick Chung has shown the ability but never consistently from week to week. Lastly, what has happened to the Devin McCourty that was so damn good last season?

The second-guessing of Belichick and the Pats front office that occurred last week, should only intensify this week since the team is coming off another brutal loss that makes you the fan question everything about this house of cards that we so dearly love.

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Hurtin' for Certain: 18-1

We had become too overconfident. There I said it. Amidst all the plans of a victory parade, the championship books and DVD's accompanying the perfect season (19-0), the Patriots didn't come through with a win in the most important game of the season. The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots, 17-14 in Super Bowl 42, held in Glendale, Arizona. It's too soon (and the wounds are too fresh) to fully comprehend how big an upset this was but let's just say it was one of the great upsets in NFL history and one of the most exciting (albeit not exactly well-played) Super Bowls ever.

Eli Manning (19 of 34, 255 yards, 2 TD's, 1 INT) earned the MVP honors, making it two years in a row that a Manning has knocked the Pats out of the playoffs. Ugh. Aside from the fourth quarter touchdown drive, Tom Brady (29 of 48, 266 yards, 1 TD) never seemed to get into a rhythm as the Giants defensive line (5 sacks) was relentless. That was the story of the game as Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and co. dominated New England's hyped offensive line which included three Pro-Bowlers (Matt Light, Logan Mankins and Dan Koppen). The older I get, the more I realize that for all it's X and O's and endless highlights from the skill positions, football games usually come down to the line play. This is rarely as obvious as last night.

The Giants opened the game with the ball and marched 63 yards in 16 plays before stalling in the red zone. Lawrence Tynes started the scoring with a 32-yard kick. Laurence Maroney took the ensuing kickoff 43 yards and eventually finished off the drive with a 1-yard burst on the opening play of the second quarter.

The fact that Las Vegas had New England as 12-point favorites coming into the game was a joke and everyone predicting a high-scoring game already looked stupid by the second quarter.

Manning's one big mistake (that cost him) was an interception by Ellis Hobbs. In truth, it was a decent pass that Giants receiver Steve Smith (5 catches, 50 yards) had go off his hands into Hobbs'. Taking over at their own 33-yard line, the Patriots went three-and-out.

Another disaster was averted by the G-Men as Ahmed Bradshaw fumbled and Patriots backup linebacker Pierre Woods fell on it. Give Bradshaw credit though as he wrestled it away from Woods and the Pats had another missed opportunity.

The Giants had another fumble that didn't hurt them. Adalius Thomas (2 sacks) hit Manning, causing him to fumble. Bradshaw hit it forward and it was recovered by Smith but you can't hit it forward. New York still retained possession.

New England was driving at the end of the half but Umenyiora crushed Brady, forcing the fumble near midfield. The game was 7-3 New England going into halftime and surprisingly it stayed that way into the fourth quarter. One of the key moments came in the third quarter when New England stalled at the Giants 31-yard line. Facing fourth-and-13, Belichick elected to go for it as Brady threw a duck out of bounds in the end zone. That missed three points came back to haunt them big time. It was an impossible call: try a long field goal with a shaky kicker (Gostowski); punt it and risk getting a touchback; or go for the fourth down against a Giants secondary that was keeping the Pats in check? New England obviously has no faith in Stevie which is reason enough to start looking for his replacement this summer.

The Giants put together a six play, 80-yard scoring drive in the fourth, the biggest play being a 45-yard catch and run by rookie tight end Kevin Boss. Receiver David Tyree (3 catches, 43 yards) caught a five-yard touchdown catch to put the Giants up 14-10.

Brady and his receivers finally woke up in the fourth quarter, capping off a 12 play, 80-yard drive with a 6-yard pass to Randy Moss (5 catches, 62 yards). Wes Welker (11 catches, 103 yards) had been unstoppable that possession, repeatedly beating the Giants underneath with beautiful catches and runs. Kevin Faulk (7 catches, 52 yards) made his requisite big plays and all looked in place for a Pats win as they were up 14-10 with 2:43 left.

The stakes couldn't have been any higher and Eli delivered in a drive that will be immortalized forever. The G-Men covered 83 yards in 12 plays in 2:07. It all would have been over if Asante Samuel had held onto a sure-fire pick but he dropped it on the sideline. Without a doubt, the play of the game was delivered by Manning and Tyree right after Samuel's drop. Eli escaped Richard Seymour and Jarvis Green and threw up a prayer that Tyree came down with while Rodney Harrison (12 tackles) did everything he could do to knock it away. It was a 32-yard gain. After Smith converted a third-and-11 by gaining 12 yards, Eli found a wide-open Plaxico Burress with the go-ahead 13-yard touchdown pass. Burress was isolated on Hobbs and with one move completely burned the overmatched cornerback.

New England got it back one more time with 36 seconds left but they didn't have a chance. Jay Alford sacked Brady and after two deep heaves to Moss went incomplete, the game was over.

There were many people to blame for the loss, the Pats O-Line, Maroney (14 carries, 36 yards), Hobbs but eventually you have to admit the Giants deserved it. Between great plays, fortuitous bounces and lack of execution on the Patriots part, New York was the better team.

Will Moss be back next year? Is there any chance the Patriots resign Samuel who will get big bucks somewhere? Will Junior Seau and possibly Tedy Bruschi retire? What will they do with the No. 7 pick in the draft? There are many questions to ponder but for now, it is crazy to think how close New England (19-0) was to something that is next to impossible. This one will sting for awhile folks.

Straight Cash Homey: 16-0

The 2007-2008 Patriots further cemented their place in history last night as they completed the first ever 16-0 regular season with a 38-35 comeback win over the New York Giants.

The win was made even more special given the circumstances: all the records broken and the fact that they took place in a tight contest rather than a blowout filled with both teams backups.

In a game that meant nothing to the Giants (10-6), New York chose to play the starters all game and as a result, they almost pulled off one of the great upsets in NFL history. With Eli Manning at the helm however, one had to feel like that was quite unlikely. After playing the first half of his life, Eli made a couple of his now routine blunders (a long sack and bad pick) in the second half to ensure that nobody would remember this edition of the Giants in the future.

In the process of going 16-0 last night at the Meadowlands, the Pats set the three biggest records in the NFL (the perfect record obviously trumping everything): Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes to go to 50 on the season, one more than Peyton Manning. Randy Moss caught both touchdowns, giving him 23 on the year and also putting him one ahead of the great Jerry Rice. As a team the Patriots also set the scoring record for a season since all they needed was six points to top the '98 Minnesota Vikings.

From the opening kickoff, the Giants showed that they weren't going to be pushed around in a game in which nobody gave them a chance. They were just the second team all season (Pittsburgh) to score on the first drive against New England and first to make it a touchdown as Eli found Brandon Jacobs on a 7-yard pass for a score. The big play of the drive was a 52-yard bomb from Manning to Plaxico Burress who was "covered" by the Patriots single weakest link, cornerback Ellis Hobbs.

New England moved the ball on their first possession but were forced to settle for a 37-yard field goal by Stephen Gostowski. It was 7-3 Giants after the first quarter.

The touchdown passes and catches record were tied with the first play of the second quarter as Brady found Moss on a 4-yard pass. Moss got a taunting penalty after the score which was key as the Pats had to then kickoff from their own 15-yard line.

Wouldn't you know the Giants returned that kick for a touchdown. Domenik Hixon (most famous for temporarily paralyzing the Bills Kevin Everett) took it 74-yards to the house.

New England started to get stops on defense but could only cash them in for three points, on 45-yard and 37-yard kicks. Any thoughts of the Pats going into halftime with the lead were erased when Manning found rookie tight end Kevin Boss on a 3-yard toss just before the break. 21-16 G-Men at halftime. It was the second time all season (Indy) that New England trailed at the half.

New York scored first in the second half as Manning found Burress with a nice 19-yard pass. The 12-point deficit was the largest New England had faced all season.

The Pats chipped away, getting seven points back on a 6-yard run by Laurence Maroney (19 carries, 46 yards).

That started a run of 22 straight points for New England as Brady fittingly found Moss on a 65-yard touchdown in the start of the fourth quarter. Amazingly enough, the score came one play after Moss had dropped a big gain (it was underthrown but you never see him do that). What a way for him and Brady to shatter their respective records.

The crowd that had been so fired up all game, suddenly realized the window was closing, the Patriots weren't letting this one get away. Manning obliged New England by throwing an interception to Hobbs (his first of the season). Maroney scored from five yards out on the ensuing drive and 16-0 was firmly in their grasp.

Burress added another touchdown, from three yards out but Mike Vrabel snared the onside kick and with that, the Patriots were perfect.

Wes Welker had a huge game (11 catches, 122 yards) and he also broke Troy Brown's team record for catches in a season. Another unsung hero was Kevin Faulk (8 catches, 64 yards) who made two clutch first downs in the second half for the Pats, plays which he has been making his whole career in New England. Brady finished 32 of 42 for 356 yards and two touchdowns, breaking the NE single-season passing record as well.

Who would have expected that type of performance from Eli (22 of 32, 251 yards, 4 touchdowns, 1 INT)? I wouldn't say it's anything but a fluke until he proves me wrong by doing it next week against the Bucs in the playoffs. Jacobs had some good runs (15 carries, 67 yards) and Burress (4 catches, 84 yards) was great when they called his number.

The Patriots have the top seed in the AFC playoffs and home-field throughout. All they have to do is win three games in five weeks, to go 19-0 and truly be hailed as the greatest NFL team of all-time. There's plenty of things to sure up (the passing defense and special teams foremost) but for now, they have a few days to sit back and enjoy the unbelievable season they've already had.