Player of the game
Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who outplayed Tom Brady. Manning led a fourth-quarter comeback with a Houdini-like escape to hit wide receiver David Tyree and move the ball to the 24-yard line. He followed shortly after with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress for the game-winning score with 35 seconds remaining. He finished 19-for-34 for 255 yards and two touchdowns.
Play of the game
With about a minute remaining, Tyree went up for a long pass from Manning after Manning appeared to have been sacked, escaped and tossed the prayer. Tyree out-jumped Patriots safety Rodney Harrison and held the ball up against his helmet before crashing into the ground. The 32-yard gain moved the ball to the Patriots' 24 and kept the drive alive. It led to Manning's game-winning, touchdown pass to Burress.
Hit of the game
Giants rookie backup defensive tackle Jay Alford plastered Brady on the final drive of the game with 21 seconds left to move the Patriots back and for all intents and purposes seal the game.
Milking the clock
Except that it resulted in a field goal instead of a touchdown, the Giants' first drive of the game could not have gone any better. They controlled the ball for 9:59, running 16 plays for 63 yards. Lawrence Tynes kicked a 32-yard field goal at 5:01 for the only score of the first quarter.
Rearing its ugly head
Dropped passes hampered the Giants during the regular season. They showed up again in the first half when Burress couldn't hang onto one that would have been a first down and Steve Smith botched one that ended up in the arms of Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs.
Brady crunch
Back-to-back sacks of Brady midway through the second quarter, by Giants linebacker Kawika Mitchell and defensive end Justin Tuck, forced a punt. The Giants ended up with three sacks of Brady in the first half, two by Tuck.
Successful challenge
With 11 minutes left in the third quarter, Patriots coach Bill Belichick challenged that the Giants had too many men on the field as linebacker Chase Blackburn tried running off the field before the Patriots snapped the ball to punt. Blackburn did not reach the sideline, and the 5-yard penalty resulted in a first down for the Patriots. New England marched to the 31, but Brady misfired on a fourth-down play, turning the ball over to New York without scoring.
Were they heroes?
In Sunday's Sun, four players were identified who could have an impact on the game. Here's how they did:
Ellis Hobbs, Patriots kick returner: Actually, Laurence Maroney made an impact with a 43-yard return in the first quarter after the Giants kicked a field goal. Hobbs, though, had a key interception inside the red zone in the first half when Smith mishandled a pass that ended up in Hobbs' arms. Hobbs got burned by Burress for the game-winning touchdown.
Kevin Faulk, Patriots running back: On third-and-13 with 9:11 left in the third quarter, Faulk made safety Michael Johnson miss and picked up 14 yards for the first down. The Patriots killed the Giants underneath. If it wasn't Faulk, it was wide receiver Wes Welker catching short passes. Faulk had seven receptions for 52 yards.
Ahmad Bradshaw, Giants running back: He was the game's leading rusher with 45 yards on nine carries but really didn't have much of an impact. His best play was recovering a botched handoff from Manning in the second quarter.
Kevin Boss, Giants tight end: He caught a key 45-yard pass in the fourth quarter to set up the Giants' go-ahead touchdown, a 5-yard pass to Tyree.
Looking ahead
The Patriots' 2008 schedule includes these opponents (dates and times will be released later): at home - Bills, Jets, Dolphins, Broncos, Chiefs, Cardinals, Rams, Steelers; on the road - Bills, Jets, Dolphins, Raiders, Chargers, 49ers, Seahawks, Colts.
On the flip side, the Giants will face these teams in 2008: at home - Cowboys, Eagles, Redskins, 49ers, Seahawks, Ravens, Bengals, Panthers; on the road - Cowboys, Eagles, Redskins, Cardinals, Rams, Browns, Steelers, Vikings.
In case you were wondering, the Ravens, under first-year coach John Harbaugh, will face: at home - Bengals, Browns, Steelers, Jaguars, Titans, Eagles, Redskins, Raiders; on the road - Bengals, Browns, Steelers, Texans, Colts, Cowboys, Giants, Dolphins.
Hot candidate
Giants first-year defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo had emerged as a candidate in the Atlanta Falcons' coaching search and is expected to get an interview tomorrow with Daniel Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins, about his team's opening. Holding the Patriots' offense to 14 points, as the Giants did last night, is the reason teams want to talk with Spagnuolo, who was an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Eagles, like Harbaugh, before moving to New York.