Super Bowl XLVI: New York Giants (21) – New England Patriots (17)
Thousands of people flocked to Lucas Oil Stadium last Saturday to watch the big game, Super Bowl XLVI which featured the New York Giants and the New England Patriots. Both teams were coming into this game with great seasons behind them, but most people favored the Pats to win the game. Although it was a very close game, already regarded by some as one of the most entertaining games in NFL history, the Giants came up big in the 4th quarter to win the ball game.
The first quarter saw Tom Brady throw an incomplete pass to the deep middle after a long drive by the Giants. A penalty flag was thrown for intentional grounding, and that put 2 points on the board for the Giants since this play was counted as a safety. It was not a good start for the Patriots.
The Giants continued their 1st quarter domination by scoring another touchdown later in the quarter. Eli Manning threw a 2-yarder down the middle to Giants Wide Receiver Victor Cruz for the first touchdown of Super Bowl XLVI. The Patriots soon turned the tide.
Early in the 2nd quarter the Patriots put their first points on the board. After an early drive, the Patriots put themselves in field goal position and they would make the kick. It was close to halftime and the Patriots hoped for a score. Right near the end of the 1st half is when their wish would come true. Tom Brady hooked up with Patriots wide receiver Danny Woodhead for a short pass up the left to win them a touchdown. The Patriots took the lead and the momentum going into halftime.
The Patriots then continued their momentum with another touchdown pass to Aaron Hernandez early in the 3rd quarter. This put the Patriots ahead of the Giants by 8 points. The Giants answered back, but not with touchdowns. They ended up kicking two good field goals to make the score a nail-biting 16-17 with the Patriots ahead.
The 4th quarter was regarded as one of the most intense quarters of the game and probably Super Bowl history. Mario Manningham, wide receiver for the Giants would make one of the best catches in his career. It was a catch that would put him right on the edge of the sideline, barely making two feet touch in-bounds. The successful catch led Eli to pass the ball off to Ahmad Bradshaw for a rather interesting touchdown. The Patriots let him just waltz right in to the end zone.
Bradshaw tried to stop himself from getting in but he fell in anyway winning him the game winning touchdown for the Giants. The Patriots tried to make a last minute comeback, but a lot of missed opportunities on the part of the Patriot’s wide receivers caused their attempt to fall flat. A last hail-Mary pass into the end zone failed, but Patriots wide receiver Rob Gronkowski came some close to catching it. Unfortunately for the Patriots, the Giants came out victorious again to beat the Patriots 21-17 (Play By Play by ESPN).
The game would set a record as being the most watched Super Bowl to date. 111.3 million people watched Saturday’s Super Bowl beating the 111 million viewer record of the Green Bay and Pittsburgh Super Bowl game last year (Fox Sports). Viewers were treated to a great game and a great halftime show, which was performed by Madonna. Madonna would lip-synch the entire performance, but the show would still be great featuring guest artists Nikki Minaj, M.I.A., LMFAO, and Cee-Lo Green. Some thought that Madonna would perform a controversial and racy show but she would end up keeping it clean for viewers. It would be M.I.A. who would strike up controversy after giving NBC cameras the middle finger (MSN).
Super Bowl XLVI is no down in the history books and it wraps up another great season with lots of stories and great games. Who would have thought that the 9-7 Giants would come to the Super Bowl to defeat the “unstoppable” Patriots? Just another great Super Bowl.