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| Take away the Super Bowl patch... |
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| ...and you couldn't tell the difference. |
In the week leading up to Sunday's Giants-Patriots game, many writers drew the obvious parallels to Super Bowl XLII, the last time these two teams met. On the surface, New England is still a passing juggernaut and New York's defense still starts and ends with its line, but a deeper look revealed little reason to expect another defensive struggle and fantastic finish. Gone are Michael Strahan, Plaxico Burress, Randy Moss and Rodney Harrison. The Patriot defense has been setting records for ineptitude and the Giants have struggled to stop the likes of Kevin Kolb and Charlie Whitehurst. Despite the memories evoked leading up to the game, most expected it to resemble the Week 17 shootout that capped the Patriots perfect 2007 regular season, rather than the eventual championship upset. Yet when the Giants and the Patriots took the field in the same uniforms as they did on February 3rd, 2008, sans Super Bowl patches, I couldn't help but get a feeling of deja vu.
People remember the epic finish to Super Bowl XLII, but they often forget how awful the first three quarters were. The Giants continually shot themselves in the foot with two fumbles, one interception, and a penalty for 12 men on the field when the Patriots were about to punt. New England's offensive line was a sieve, allowing four sacks and many more hits that threw their entire offense out of rhythm. When the fourth quarter started, the teams had combined for a measly 10 points.
Those of us expecting Eli Manning and Tom Brady to pick apart two vulnerable defenses this time around were surprised when this Sunday's game started just as sloppily as the last one. The first three quarters were stained by three interceptions, a missed chip shot, four bad snaps and four fumbles, including two on punt returns. The fourth quarter started, and these two teams again had underwhelmed with just 13 total points.
(Sidenote #1: The Giants' defensive line takes the cake for stopping Brady in that Super Bowl, but I have to give more credit to the secondary for Sunday's win. Perry Fewell did a masterful job in dropping his linebackers into the underneath zones and mixing coverages on Wes Welker to make sure Brady never got comfortable.)
As in Super Bowl XLII, when the offenses finally did kick into gear, the ensuing 15 minutes were some of the most exciting we've seen. Manning took the lead with a touchdown pass, and Tom Brady again answered in the clutch. And again, Eli Manning was left with one last drive to win the game. It couldn't be more poetic. Three years and 10 months later, the Patriots had a second chance to stop Manning, and he again was in a position to break New England's heart.
I've told many of my friends this over the years, but when Randy Moss caught that touchdown with 2:40 left in the Super Bowl, I wasn't devastated. I was relieved, because the Patriots had left Manning with enough time to win the game. As flawed as he was back then, Eli often showed the ability to come back late in games, and I felt utterly confident that he would do it again. He's rediscovered that ability this season, and on Sunday, with 2nd and 9 from the Giants' 14 yard line, my biggest fear was that the Patriots would run the ball and not give him that chance. After two incompletions and one great pass by Brady, the Patriots had their touchdown, but Eli had his time.
It's a bit eerie how the ensuing drive played out. With 1:18 left, Patrick Chung couldn't hold on to a game-ending sideline interception, just as Asante Samuel couldn't with 1:18 to go in the Super Bowl. With just over a minute left, Jake Ballard, wearing a familiar Number 85, made a spectacular drive-saving catch, just as David Tyree did. In the Super Bowl, Ellis Hobbs bit on a fake slant to leave Plaxico Burress open for a touchdown. This time, linebacker Tracy White was the goat, as he fell for the play action and allowed Ballard to get behind him.
(Sidenote #2: My roommate Doug was livid at White for this, as all Patriots fans should be. There was no way the Giants were going to run the ball there and risk time running out before they could get their field goal team on the field. In fact, before that play I announced to my friends that I'd be OK with firing Tom Coughlin if he called a run. Manning confirmed after the game that it was a pass all the way. White has no excuse for biting on the play action.)
Sunday's win looked like Super Bowl XLII, and the ensuing euphoria felt like it for Giants fans. As a New Yorker living in Boston, I'm just glad that I'll no longer have to hear why Eli Manning sucks from every New Englander seeking therapy for their 18-1 season.
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