Super Bowl 2012: 6 Biggest Plays from New York Giants' Win

The New York Giants were once again able to knock off the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.  

The Giants' win was set up by quite a few big plays, the biggest of which was made by Mario Manningham when he hauled in a 38-yard pass from Eli Manning near the sideline.

Click through to see the six biggest plays the Giants made en route to their second Super Bowl title in four years.

6. Ahmad Bradshaw Runs for 24 Yards

Ahmad Bradshaw had a big night, carrying the ball 17 times for 72 yards and a touchdown.  On the Giants' second drive, the one that came right after the safety, Bradshaw busted off a 24-yard run that helped set up Victor Cruz's two-yard touchdown pass seven plays later.

This was a big play for Bradshaw, but it was not his biggest play of the night.

5. Tom Brady Called for Intentional Grounding Results in Safety

The Giants got on the board first in this game when Tom Brady was called for intentional grounding from his own end zone.  

The New York pass rush forced Brady to get rid of the football early, and it floated to an area where there were no Patriots receivers.  Brady was called for intentional grounding in his end zone, which by rule, results in a safety.

That play was set up by an excellent punt from Steve Weatherford that the Giants special teams downed at the 6-yard line.

4. Eli Manning Two-Yard Touchdown Pass to Victor Cruz

Victor Cruz, a relatively unknown player before the season started, ended his breakout season with a bang.  His two-yard touchdown catch from Eli Manning on the second drive of the game gave the Giants an early 9-0 lead.

Manning was rewarded for his big night with his second career Super Bowl MVP award.

3. Chase Blackburn Intercepts Tom Brady in the Fourth Quarter

The Patriots entered the fourth quarter with a 17-15 lead and the ball, but on the second play of the quarter Chase Blackburn intercepted a Tom Brady pass that was intended for Rob Gronkowski at the 8-yard line.

Obviously that play was huge because if it goes the other way, the Patriots have the ball with a first-and-goal from the 8-yard line.  A touchdown there would have presented the Giants with an uphill battle to get back in the game.

2. Ahmad Bradshaw Six-Yard Touchdown Run

This was one of the weirdest plays in Super Bowl history.  It is not very often that you see a team score a touchdown in the Super Bowl and not get excited, but that was the case on this play.

It was pretty clear that Ahmad Bradshaw had been instructed to go down short of the goal line so the Giants could run some more time off of the clock before getting the go-ahead score.  

Bradshaw tried to go down before getting into the end zone, but could not stop his momentum before backing in for the touchdown.

Of course, in the end, it did not matter that the score gave the ball back to the Patriots with almost a minute to play and a timeout.  The Giants defense held for the Super Bowl win.

Eli Manning to Mario Manningham for 38 Yards

This catch will do down in Giants' history right next to the David Tyree catch.

New York got the ball back at its own 12-yard line trailing 17-15 with 3:46 seconds to play in the game.  On the first play Eli Manning threw a beautiful pass down the sideline to Mario Manningham.

Manningham had the awareness to catch the ball and tap both of his feet in bounds while getting hit by two Patriots defenders.  The play was challenged by Bill Belichick and was upheld because Manningham's feet were clearly in bounds.  

It would have been tough for the Giants to win the game without this catch.