Three reasons the Giants beat the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII

In case you didn’t get to read it last time, I wrote a similar analysis when the Giants beat the Cowboys on January 13. So, think of this more like “part 2.”

Every game has its moments. Every game has a winner. The Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants both had their moments, but it was the G-Men who emerged the winners. Here’s why:

1. The Giants Defensive line: I won’t go so far to say the game was absolutely won by the New York front four, but if they gave a “most valuable unit” award for this game, those guys in the trenches would win it running away. All season long, Tom Brady kept his jersey squeaky clean, due in large part to the front five’s excellent pass protection. When was the last time Brady had to scramble out of the pocket? I truly believe, after the season he’s had in the pocket, Brady may have forgotten how to gain yards with his legs. No, I don’t mean running for yards, but buying time if the pocket breaks down. But you can’t give enough credit for how Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Co. performed. Though, I’m pretty pissed off that not too many people are crediting former Penn State standout Jay Alford for his 10-yard sack of Brady on the last drive. Even those anti-Penn State/Big Ten assholes at CBS mentioned Alford, go figure.

2. Field Position: Jeff Feagles dropped two punts inside the New England 20-yard line, and consistently bombed deep ones all night. The Patriots were able to return only one punt for 15 yards. Imagine if Tom Brady’s team had been able to work from outside the shadow of its own goal posts? It might have been a completely different game if the Patriots didn’t have to drive 85-90 yards each time they had the ball. On the other hand, since the Patriots failed to move the ball as well as they would’ve liked, they frequently played right back into the Giants hands. New York fielded every punt return outside of its own 20.

3. The Giants Offensive line: This isn’t so much about the offensive line’s pass protection, as Eli Manning was sacked a few times. This is more about the fact that the New York front five often gave Manning *just enough time to get rid of the ball. They never gave up on the play, and did something the Patriots line couldn’t do. The Giants line gave Manning the confidence to make the throws he had to, without the constant worry of being knocked senseless each time he released the ball. I do have to give Manning a lot of credit though, as he escaped pressure plenty of times, highlighted by that final drive. Manning was surely going to get sacked by three Patriots, but miraculously twisted his way free to complete the most impressive overall play of his career. If the offensive line is No. 3 on this list, put Manning at No. 3a.

I hope this dabble into the NFL wasn’t too painful for the readers. I’ll try to do better next time.