Photos of David Tyree catching the ball with Rodney Harrison defending in the 4th quarter of Super Bowl XLII by AP/Charlie Riedel (left) and AP/Gene Puskar (right)
History will place the 2007 Giants among the most unlikely champions ever. 0-2 to start the season, down 17-3 at halftime of their third game, bad losses to Minnesota and Washington, down 14-0 off the bat in Buffalo, a comeback in Dallas, an OT winner in Green Bay and a 17-14 victory over the perfect Patriots- it simply doesn’t get any better than this for Giants fans.
Everyone was saying that if the Giants were to have a chance in the Super Bowl, their defense would need to get to Tom Brady. Well, they did that. Sacking the Patriots quarterback five times, the most sacks allowed by the Patriots this season. In addition to the sacks, the Giants defense knocked Brady down 9 times and hurried him on countless other occasions.
What can you say about Eli Manning who went from goat to Super Bowl hero in six weeks? The final drive was a testimony to his growth as a quarterback. Manning, the Super Bowl XLII MVP, was 19 of 34 and threw for 255 yards and 2 touchdowns. How about Tom Coughlin who was almost run out of town after last year’s 8-8 finish and not only turned his team around but changed his entire demeanor? Justin Tuck went from a third round pick to one of the key reasons the Giants won this game. David Tyree caught four balls in the regular season and made two of the biggest catches in Giants’ history.
All of them and so many more contributed to a truly team championship and now we can all get ready for a parade on Tuesday. It should be, like everything before it, one hell of a show.
