Giants of men tear asunder 'perfect' Patriots
New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck (91) strips the football from New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady during the second quarter of Super Bowl XLII in Phoenix
It was no less than the second biggest upset in the history of the Super Bowl. Only No III, in which Joe Namath of the then upstart New York Jets beat the mighty Baltimore Colts was larger. This one on Sunday night in Super Bowl XLII was stunning, surprising, enlightening.
The New York Giants, driven by a defence heavily dependent on London-born defensive end Osi Umenyiora, shut down the high-powered New England Patriots and ended their undefeated season with a dramatic 17-14 win.
Broken
The Patriots had broken all scoring records during their 18-0 run but the Giants shut them down.
"A lot of times it was Osi and me one-on-one,'' said the Giants' other defensive end Michael Strahan. "I don't know how well that worked out for the Patriots.''
It didn't. Patriots quarter-back Tom Brady was sacked five times.
If Umenyiora helped jump-start the defence, it was Scotland-born Lawrence Tynes who put the first points on the board for the Giants.
Tynes, the kicker who sent the Giants to the Super Bowl with an overtime field goal against Green Bay in the NFC championship game, sent them into a 3-0 lead after a 9 minute 59 second drive in the first quarter.
Denied
With Strahan rushing from the left and Umenyiora from the right, the Patriots didn't know who to double team. So perfection was denied.
Last year it was Eli's older sibling, Peyton, leading the Indianapolis Colts to a Super Bowl victory and earning himself the most valuable player award. On Sunday, in the suburbs of Phoenix, it was Eli doing the Xerox trick for the Giants and himself.
"Watching Peyton win last year,'' said Eli, "and then the Giants winning this year, it's unbelievable.''
The Patriots came in without a defeat, 12-point favourites. The plan was perfect for the Giants. Run the ball on offence, and with Umenyiora and Strachan coming in, run Brady ragged on defence.
Strahan had one of the five sacks on Brady, who in those previous 18 victories never had been brought down more than three times in any one game. "They put a lot of pressure on us,'' said Brady, who completed 29 of 48 passes but only for 266 yards.
And now the Patriots have a hole in a dream. They failed to join the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only team of the modern era to finish a season without a defeat.
"Tonight doesn't take away from the season. It's just unfortunate it turned out the way it did,'' Brady said. "It is extremely disappointing.''
Brady was the one who all season and in three previous Super Bowls had made the big plays, the winning plays.
But this time after the Patriots had gone ahead, 14-10 with two minutes 42 seconds remaining, on a Brady to Randy Moss pass, it was Manning who responded by throwing a 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds on the clock.
Impudence
Burress veritably guaranteed a win on Tuesday, 23-17, to which Brady replied: "You'd think at least he'd make it something like 45-42.''
You'd think Patriots management would have been a bit more careful with their impudence. Before the game, they bought the trademark rights to the phrases "19-0" and "19-0, The Perfect Season".
That so inflamed the New York Post, the newspaper spent $375 to patent the number "18-1'.
That's where the Pats finished. Now they are finished. Defeated. Denied. (© Daily Telegraph, London)
- Art Spander in Glendale, Arizona
