Eli did it again.
The New York Giants used a fourth quarter rally to win Super Bowl 46 by the count of 21-17 over the New England Patriots. It was a fantastic day for sports bettors, as the majority by almost a 60/40 margin were backing the G-Men and the three points on their side. Unfortunately for bettors, the game fell far short of the final 'total' of 53 thanks to some lackluster offense on both sides of the ball.
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Super Bowl MVP QB Eli Manning generated a fantastic drive in the fourth quarter, leading the Giants 88 yards for the game-winning touchdown with just 0:57 to play. However, it definitely was not a drive that didn't come without its controversy.
RB Ahmad Bradshaw scored from six yards out on a draw play, but he was trying to fall down short of the goal line. There was no doubt that doing that would have likely ended the game, knowing that the team could have just taken two knees and booted a field goal that basically amounted to be just an extra point to win the game. Instead, Bradshaw fell into the end zone, the team failed on a two-point conversion, and the Giants' defense had to make one more stand.
And that's exactly what they did. This unit picked up a safety on the first New England snap of the game, and the affair was essentially over when DE Justin Tuck notched his second sack of the game right at the start of the final drive.
Manning threw for 296 yards and a TD on 30-of-40 passing, and he became the first quarterback to notch nine straight completions to start a Super Bowl.
QB Tom Brady was under duress all game long, though he did at one point, complete a Super Bowl record 14 passes in a row on two TD drives, one of which was just before halftime, and the second of which came with the first drive of the second half. Brady finished going 27-of-41 for 276 yards with two TDs and an INT.
TE Rob Gronkowski was clearly slowed by his ankle injury, and he only had two catches for 26 yards on the day. TE Aaron Hernandez led all Patriots receivers with eight catches, 67 yards, and a score.
For New York, WR Hakeem Nicks had 10 catches for 109 yards. WR Victor Cruz was relatively quiet, catching just four passes for 25 yards, but he did have the game's first touchdown in the first quarter.
The longest play of the game went for 38 yards to WR Mario Manningham, and it was the play that started the winning drive. Manningham made a fantastic catch along the sidelines with two Patriots draped on him, and he managed to tip his toes and survive contact with the ground. Head Coach Bill Belichick challenged the play and was defeated on the challenge in the only review in the Super Bowl.
The victory gave the Giants their fourth Super Bowl championship in five tries. New England dropped for the second time to the G-Men in the Super Bowl in the last four years, and it marked the third time that the team has been beaten in the Super Bowl since 1997. It also denied Brady his fourth championship, which would have put him in some incredibly elite company.
The NFC improved to 25-21 all-time against the AFC in Super Bowls, and it gave the conference its third straight win over the AFC after going just 3-9 in the previous 12 championship games.
The Giants have now won their last two Super Bowls by scoring 21 and 17 points. The last team before them to win a Super Bowl by scoring fewer than 24 points was the 2005-06 Pittsburgh Steelers, who beat the Seattle Seahawks 21-10 in Super Bowl 40.
All isn't lost for the Patriots, though. They are lined as the second favorites to win the Super Bowl for next season at 7 to 1 on the opening spreads. The Giants are the eighth choice to become the first team to repeat since the Pats did it in 2004 and 2005. New York is 15 to 1.
