We all saw what happened last night in Super Bowl XLVI (46), and it was one New York fans will remember forever. This one was special, possibly even more so than the ’07 triumph over the New England Patriots. This team that defeated New England had a dominant feel to them; quite frankly they looked poised to win this game and appeared to be in the driver’s seat throughout. A team that in their final six games conceded no more than 20 points (which they conceded to the mighty Green Bay Offense) en route to winning all of those contests. Their run of beating the Packers, 49ers and Patriots was extremely impressive. It was the epitome of a team effort with both the defense and offense making “Super” plays to win games.
The reason I believe this win is more special for Giants fans is that it cements the legacy of Eli Manning as well as Coach Tom Coughlin. Believe it or not only eleven Quarterbacks have won multiple Super Bowls, and Eli, only 31 years old, isn’t done yet. This season as a whole showed that Manning is now undoubtedly a top-flight quarterback who can win games on his own while at the same time pairing Coach Coughlin and Manning together as one of the most impressive Quarterback-Coach tandems in NFL history . Prior to this season Eli was always respected but never seen as a guy who could kill you single-handedly, teams no longer make that mistake when playing against him. In throwing 30 of 40 for 296 yards and 1 touchdown (with an impressive 103.8 QB Rating), Eli also became the fifth QB of all time to win two Super Bowl MVPs, quite an accolade if you ask me. This shows that the man comes to play when it matters most, and that’s what special players do.
The last drive for the Giants started with 3:46 left in the game, trailing by 3 points. It featured a ridiculous catch from Mario Manningham (The Catch 2?) and methodical patience from Eli Manning. It ended with the Giants taking the lead and leaving Tom Brady a mere 57 seconds to score with only 1 timeout remaining. Brady is known for these types of moments, but this Giants defense had way too much pride to let New England take this win from them.
It would all come down to a hail mary with five seconds left in regulation that was unbelievably almost in range for tight end Rob Gronkowski to grab, but it hit the turf and that was all. It was a very surreal moment, but extremely fitting in a well fought game. It certainly wasn’t easy, and it hasn’t been all year, but the Giants finally put to rest all doubts that they are not a perennial threat to go all the way. Congratulations to the 2012 Super Bowl Champion New York Giants!
Will The Giants Repeat Next Season? What a Game Right? Let Me know what your thinking!