Super Bowl XLVI
Feb. 5, 2012
Lucus Oil Stadium * Indianapolis, Ind.
New York Giants 21, New England 17
This was originally published in Beckett Media’s New York Giants Super Bowl Championship magazine.
First Quarter
New York Giants 9
New England 0
From the beginning, things started to go New York’s way. Their opening drive stalled at close to mid-field after three consecutive negative plays. But after punting and penning the Patriots on their own 6 yard line, Tom Brady did something very un-Tom Brady-like. Giants DE Justin Tuck nearly had his hands on Brady when the quarterback threw the ball deep down field with no Patriots receiver in the area. It was an intentional grounding—safety for the Giants.
Getting the ball back, the Giants, who ranked last in the NFL in rushing, surprisingly used runs and short passes to drive downfield deep into New England territory. Ahmad Bradshaw ripped off a 24-yard run to set the Giants up on New England’s side of the field.
A few plays later, Manning hit Victor Cruz inside the 10 yard line, but he fumbled while being tackled. But the Patriots gave the Giants another gift, as they were penalized for having 12 men on the field. Two plays later, Manning and Cruz connected again for a touchdown, making the score 9-0.
Of course, Brady couldn’t be kept down for long. Having run just one play in the quarter, the Patriots started to put together a drive that took them inside the Giants’ 20 yard line as the quarter ended.
Second Quarter
New York Giants 9
New England 10
New York owned the first quarter, but the second quarter belonged to New England. Starting at the Giants 17 yard line, Tom Brady completed his fourth straight pass. The Patriots couldn’t get into the end zone, but Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 29-yard field goal to put their first points on the board.
The Giants got the ball back at their own 20 yard line and again had success running the ball with Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. But after a penalty, the Giants found themselves in a third-and-15 situation. Unable to convert, they punted the ball back to Brady. But the Patriots only managed 9 yards and also had to punt.
The Giants got the ball back with about eight and a half minutes left in the quarter. They managed to get a first down, and would have had another one inside New England territory but Giants’ lineman Kevin Boothe was called for holding. The Giants punted and penned the Patriots on their own 4 yard line. A false start moved them back another 2 yards.
With just over four minutes to go, the Patriots needed to go 98 yards to score a touchdown. Brady came alive and completed 10 straight passes on the drive. The Patriots were at the Giants 22 yard line when Brady connected with Danny Woodhead on two consecutive plays. Two plays later, Brady found Woodhead again for a 4-yard touchdown with eight seconds left on the clock. The Patriots were up 10-9 at halftime.
Third Quarter
New York Giants 15
New England 17
After seeing Madonna roll out onto the field at halftime like the god-King Xerxes from the movie 300, you just knew something special was coming. And the second half did not disappoint. The Patriots got the ball to start the second half. Tom Brady had been on a hot streak and carried it into the third quarter, hitting all of his passes on the first drive.
He opened with a 21-yard pass to Chad Ochocinco. Several plays later, the Patriots threatened deep in Giants’ territory and ran a couple no-huddle plays. From the New York 12 yard line, Brady found tight end Aaron Hernandez over the middle, and Hernandez lowered his shoulder to get into the end zone and increase the lead to 17-9. The Patriots offense had the momentum, but the Giants were about to create some of their own.
New York got the ball back on its own 35 yard line and used short runs and passes to move to the New England 20. Lawrence Tynes hit a 38 yard field goal to make it a five-point game. Brady and the Patriots had no answer on their next drive. The Giants’ offense returned with about 5:30 minutes left and set up at the New England 48 yard line. Eli Manning hit Hakeem Nicks for 17 yards, who fumbled, but it was recovered by a Giants’ lineman. A few plays later, with the ball inside 10 yard line, Manning was sacked on third down. Tynes hit another field goal to tighten the score to 17-15. As the quarter ended with the Patriots controlling the ball, it was clear that this Super Bowl rematch was going down to the wire.
Fourth Quarter
New York Giants 21
New England 17
The Giants hadn’t led since the first quarter, but the momentum was theirs again as the fourth quarter started. Two plays into the quarter, Tom Brady escaped the pass rush and heaved the ball deep down field for tight end Rob Gronkowski, but it was picked off at the New York 8 yard line.
The Giants took about five minutes off the clock on their next drive moving down inside the Patriots’ 40 yard line. But a penalty and incomplete pass caused the Giants to punt. The Patriots got three first downs on the ensuing drive, but were only able to get to New York’s 44 yard line. Wes Welker dropped a deep pass that would have set the Patriots up in field goal range.
Down by just five points, the Giants had another chance with less than four minutes left and the ball on their own 12 yard line. The first play of the drive mirrored what had worked for the Giants all season—big pass plays. Mario Manningham made a spectacular sideline catch, narrowly getting both feet in bounds. Eli Manning hit Manningham two more times on the drive.
It looked as though the Giants, down two points, would be able to run the clock down and kick a field goal. With just over one minute remaining, the Patriots called a timeout. Then Ahmad Bradshaw ran the ball up the middle for a touchdown. It was clear the Patriots let him score to give themselves time to come back. Leading by four, the Giants went for a two-point conversion but failed.
The Patriots had just under one minute to score a touchdown. They were able to keep the drive alive and make it to mid-field. But with five seconds on the clock, Brady was forced to heave a Hail Mary into the end zone that fell to the ground near tight end Aaron Hernandez.
Manning bested Brady twice in the Super Bowl—the game where Brady wrote his legacy. The Giants were once again the improbably champions that played their best when it mattered most.
