Giants pull off momentous upset

GLENDALE, ARIZ. - There was perfection in the desert Sunday night.

But it wasn't the 18-1 New England Patriots. It was Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's flawless game plan.

There was a quarterback who calmly led his team from behind twice in the fourth quarter.

But it wasn't Tom Brady. It was Eli Manning, who is no longer just Peyton's little brother.

And there was a masterful coaching job by a former Giants assistant.

But it wasn't Bill Belichick. It was Tom Coughlin.

Add it up and you had a stunning 17-14 victory by the 12-point underdog Giants in Super Bowl XLII played in front of 71,101 fans at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

That, of course, is the same Giants team that lost six times this season, including a 24-point drubbing by the Vikings three months ago.

It appeared the Patriots would join the 1972 Miami Dolphins (17-0) as the only unbeaten, untied teams in NFL history when Brady threw a touchdown pass to former Vikings receiver Randy Moss on third-and-goal from the 6 with 2 minutes, 42 seconds left.

But that was when Eli joined Peyton as a Super Bowl winner and MVP, leading the Giants from behind once again. He lofted a 13-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Plaxico Burress in the left corner of the end zone with 35 seconds left. That, of course, is the same Plaxico Burress who took heat most of last week for predicting that the Giants would win 23-17. The Patriots were offended that Burress said they would score only 17 points.

"This is the greatest feeling in professional sports," Burress said. "For us to come out here and win a world championship tonight -- nobody gave us a shot. Can somebody give our defense credit? To hold the best offense in NFL history to 14 points, that's unbelievable."

The Patriots had all three timeouts when they took possession at their 26 with 29 seconds left. Brady was sacked by rookie Jay Alford on second down -- the fifth sack of Brady on the day. The last two plays were deep-ball incompletions to Moss.

Belichick ran to midfield and shook Coughlin's hand and ran to the Patriots' tunnel, possibly unaware that there was still a second left on the clock. The field was cleared and the Giants snapped the ball one more time with Belichick still up the tunnel.

"It's disappointing," Belichick said. "They're a good defensive team. They played well. They led the league in sacks, so it's no secret they're able to rush the passer."

Five weeks ago, in the final week of the regular season, the Patriots beat the Giants 38-35 at Giants Stadium. Brady dropped back 43 times that day and was sacked only one time while completing 76.2 percent of his passes for 356 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Spagnuolo changed his game plan from that day, throwing a variety of blitz packages from defensive backs and linebackers to go with the unstoppable athleticism of all those defensive ends. Besides the sacks, Brady also was knocked down seven more times behind a line that lost right guard Stephen Neal in the second quarter.

"Steve has made the most incredible adjustments you can imagine all year," New York defensive end Michael Strahan said. "We just shut down the best offense in NFL history and made them look mediocre. We shocked the world. We shocked ourselves."

The Giants joined the 2005 Steelers as the only wild-card team to win three playoff games on the road en route to winning the Super Bowl. The Giants lost to the Cowboys (twice), Packers and Patriots during the regular season but then beat all three during the postseason.

The pass rush was the difference in the victories over Dallas and New England. Tuck led the Giants on Sunday with two sacks, two hurries and a forced fumble off a sack.

"We knew we had to get to Tom Brady," Strahan said. "Osi [Umenyiora] came up to me at breakfast and said, 'Do you realize if we don't hit Brady, we don't win the game?' But that's what we do. We rush the passer. If you have a quarterback who likes to throw the ball, we're going to hit him. A lot."

And with that perfect game plan, the 1972 Dolphins once again were able to pop their champagne bottles.

"We're proud to be the only undefeated team in the history of the National Football League," former Dolphins running back Jim Kiick said. "We're proud of it. Why shouldn't we be? ...

"The Patriots are a great football team. Unfortunately, they didn't win this Super Bowl."

Mark Craig • mcraig@startribune.com