5. Super Bowl XLVI, Giants vs. Patriots, 2012
UPDATE: Eli Manning has announced his retirement from the NFL after 16 seasons with the Giants and two Super Bowl wins, including this one. One of his biggest moments was in this Super Bowl game against the Patriots.
Giants-Patriots in the Super Bowl, round two—but the sequel is never as good as the original, right?
From the get-go, the Pats should’ve known this game was going to be a wild one. After the Giants punted deep, Tom Brady was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone, giving New York a safety and a 2-0 lead. After the Giants went up 9-0, the Patriots got to work, scoring 17 straight points—but they wouldn’t add to the scoreboard again.
After two field goals from the Giants brought the team within two points at 17-15, fireworks began. With less than four minutes remaining in the game, the Giants were pinned deep in their own territory at the 12-yard line, meaning they would need a lengthy drive to win the game. Manning wasted no time moving the chains—his first pass was a 40-yard bomb to Mario Manningham, who somehow found space between two defenders and made a fantastic catch along the sidelines, mimicking what David Tyree did against the Pats in the Super Bowl four years earlier.
For Patriots fans, it was deja vu all over again. A Giants wide receiver making a fantastic catch as the team drives down to try and win the Super Bowl? This time would be different, right? Wrong. Ahmad Bradshaw scored the winning touchdown with less than a minute left and the Giants won the Super Bowl after Brady’s last-second Hail Mary heave to Rob Gronkowski fell to the turf.
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