Super Bowl 42 results - final score: New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14

18-1.

After seeing New England win all season, why doesn't it seem like a surprise at all that they lost?

Was it because so many people were picking New York? (And why was that? Was it wishful thinking, because so many wanted New York to win because they were sick of hearing about the Patriots?)

Was it because New York played them so close in their last meeting? The spread for the game was 12 points, but that was definitely low if you look at both teams' full seasons: New England at 18-0 and New York a pedestrian 10-6.

Or was it because New England had been dodging bullet after bullet for two months? First the close call at mid-season against Indianapolis—which was excuseable since Indianapolis came into the game undefeated. Then they barely beat 5-5 Philadelphia at home. Much less excuseable. The closest call was against 4-7 Baltimore, a game they really should have lost.

Then came a string of wins that didn't exactly convince the world they should be considered the best of all time, but it didn't matter—they finished the regular season undefeated, a feat that seemed impossible in this day and age.

But they never regained the level of dominance they showed in the first half of the season. Their playoff games—against low-seeded opponents—were unspectacular 31-20 and 21-12 wins. And against the Giants, they finally ran out of luck. They played like the Patriots of the second half of the year, far removed from the team that could choose its score in September and October.

The Giants, however, played their sixth consecutive great game. Their first 14 games saw them go 9-5, but they were truly no better than an average team. Then, in the 2nd quarter at Buffalo two days before Christmas, something changed. Down 14-0, they outscored the Bills 38-7 from that point to make the playoffs.

The first contest against the Patriots followed, where the Giants led into the 4th quarter before losing by 3 points. Even in losing, it ranked among their best performances of the year. But they were just getting started.

At Tampa Bay, the Giants took control of the game on Eli Manning's 20 of 27 passing and won, 24-14. Another road game, for the NFC championship, saw them beat heavy favorite Green Bay in overtime.

With each game they were getting better. The defense was solidifying. But would it be enough to topple the Patriots?

After five strong games, would the law of averages catch up to them and give them a subpar performance? Or had they really improved, and would momentum carry them even beyond their level of play in the first New England game? And as for the Patriots—when the chips were down, one game left, could they return to their early season form?

In my pre-game analysis, I said the only chance New York has is if their streak of solid games continued, and New England's streak of questionable play did likewise, in which case the game would be a tossup. I didn't believe both would happen, but New York played another excellent game, and clearly New England's offense was in the lackluster form of the last several months. The Giants' pressure worked like no other team's had against Tom Brady. Five sacks and innumerable hurries and hits flustered the Patriot offense. Meanwhile the Giant O did just enough to give them the 17-14 win.

And with it, the New England Patriots' dream of being the best ever crumbled, their dynasty of the 2000s failed to surpass the other Decade Dynasties. Their image is left tarnished by cheating allegations, and millions of football fans are celebrating along with the 1972 Dolphins squad.

For the Giants, what seemed impossible after two opening losses, and still unthinkable at mid-season, has come true; they are Super Bowl champions. No one will be calling them the best team of all time— most would agree that they weren't even among the top several teams of this season, but in the post-season they were undeniably the greatest, beating the two top NFC teams and the best AFC team in succession. When it counted, the Giants came through.

Comments

They say defence wins championships, well the Bronco’ s are first over points allowed and rank in the top ten in the other three categories. Earlier in the year I just couldn’ t buy into this Denver team and each week they prove me wrong with their athletic defence and second half surges.