Giants beat Patriots in best Super Bowl ever played

Sorry, folks. The mother of all upsets still belongs to that other New York team that set the standard 39 Roman numeral games ago, when the Jets and “Broadway” Joe Namath knocked off the Baltimore Colts as 18-point underdogs.

That was the day the old, American Football League announced with a watershed victory it would never again be considered the NFL’s ugly cousin in the history books. A year later, the leagues merged.

That also was the day the Jets did more than stun the Colts, 16-7. New York added weight to its historic accomplishment by controlling the heavy favorites from the outset. The game was never really that close.

What the Giants did on Sunday, besides complete an inspired month of bone-rattling, playoff defense and announce the arrival of another quarterback legend named Manning, is get the last word in the greatest Super Bowl ever played.

Seriously, what did this game lack? Nothing.

The Patriots and the Giants were never separated by more than four points. For three quarters, both defenses traded bruising hits and big plays, especially the Giants’ front four, which pummeled New England quarterback Tom Brady.

Each team put together one, early scoring drive. The Patriots’ 7-3 lead stood for more than half of the game, which never got boring and never got sloppy, despite a first-half turnover by each team.

Yet, all of that was merely a prelude to a show-stopping fourth quarter that featured three touchdowns and — for the first time in Super Bowl history — three lead changes.

And it all came down to Eli Manning answering Brady, the young gun responding to the old master.

Be honest. When Brady found a wide-open Randy Moss in the end zone with a six-yard scoring pass that gave New England a 14-10 lead with 2:42 left, you thought New York’s incredible postseason run was over, didn’t you? I did, considering New England’s defense had been so resilient all night.

But Manning simply capped his wondrous playoff run by growing up some more, engineering an 83-yard, touchdown drive — a dramatic march that might not have happened without a sequel to The Catch (Joe Montana-to-Dwight Clark) from the San Francisco-Dallas, NFC title game a generation ago.

Every time I watch the replay on third-and-five from the New York 44, I think Manning is going to be tossed to the ground, only he escapes New England’s fierce pass rush. Every time I watch, I don’t think wide receiver David Tyree can possibly come down with that 32-yard reception, considering he’s falling backwards and safety Rodney Harrison’s hand is on the ball.

But Tyree, using his helmet as a bookend, secures the ball at the New England 24, setting up Manning’s game-winning toss to Plaxico Burress four plays later, with 35 seconds left.

Unbelievable. The Patriots were 35 ticks away from perfection. Then, the Giants opened a wound and poured a glass of battery acid into it. This was take-away-your-breath stuff. It’s the reason we watch sports.

Still, what New York did does not qualify as the greatest upset in Super Bowl history.

It puzzled me that New England was a 12-point favorite. For two months, after setting the league on fire with ridiculously explosive offense, New England had looked increasingly mortal. The Patriots had survived close calls against the Colts, Eagles, Ravens and especially, the Giants, who came up a field goal short on Dec. 29.

New England had to grind its way to playoff wins against Jacksonville and San Diego, calling on its defense to secure each victory. Consider that Moss needed 177 minutes of playoff action to catch his first touchdown pass of this postseason.

The formula was out there for everyone to see. You could move the ball on New England with physical, patient play, and if you could get pressure on Brady without having to blitz, you could hang around with a chance to win late.

Enter the Giants. They hadn’t lost a road game since the first game of the season, and they showed their playoff poise with three road wins in January, topped by close wins at Dallas and Green Bay. Their offensive and defensive lines were dominant. And Manning was riding tremendous confidence.

New York did what it knew it could do. It punched the Patriots in the mouth early and often. Its defense stuffed the run and mauled Brady, eliminating the home run. Its offense kept plugging, and ultimately turned to Manning to make the clutch plays he had made throughout the playoffs.

When it was over, the Giants had prevailed in the best Super Bowl ever played. But it wasn’t the game’s greatest upset.

Gary Lambrecht writes about the NFL, Major League Baseball and college sports. He can be reached at glambrecht@baltimoreexaminer.com.