Super Bowl 2012: Eli Manning Wins MVP Again as Giants Beat Patriots 21-17

The journey is over, and what a finish to the end of the season.

The New York Giants are the 2011 Super Bowl champions.

When the season first started after the lockout ended, there was no way I thought the Giants would even make the playoffs, let alone play in the Super Bowl.

At 6-6, I thought the Giants looked absolutely finished.

At 7-7 and losing the ugly home game to the Washington Redskins, I thought the Giants were too inconsistent to make the postseason.

And yet, after wins against the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys, the Giants won the NFC East and were going to the playoffs.

And then they roll off wins against the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers, and all of a sudden they were the 2011 NFC champions and headed to Indianapolis.

All that stood in the Giants' way were the New England Patriots and Tom Brady, a team looking for revenge after the Super Bowl XLII loss, as well as a Week 9 loss in Foxborough.

So in the city that Peyton Manning made famous and the stadium that he built in Lucas Oil Stadium, it was the Giants vs. Patriots in perhaps the biggest Super Bowl rematch in league history.

And both teams brought their "A" games.

The Patriots won the coin toss, but deferred, so the Giants got first possession.

Eli Manning got off to a slow start, getting sacked twice on the opening drive and Steve Weatherford had to punt.

On the Patriots' opening drive, Brady started at his own 6-yard line and got called for intentional grounding when he threw the ball downfield from the end zone with no receiver in the area, and the Giants were up 2-0.

The Giants got the ball back and went 78 yards in nine plays to score a two-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Victor Cruz, putting the Giants up 9-0.

In the second quarter, the Patriots drove the field but had to settle for a 29-yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski, cutting the lead to 9-3.

The Giants were driving again, and Brandon Jacobs converted on a 3rd-and-1, but a holding call on guard Kevin Boothe negated the first down and the Giants had to punt again, killing a potential scoring drive.

The Patriots went 14 plays for 99 yards, ending with Brady throwing a four-yard touchdown pass to Danny Woodhead with 15 seconds left, making it 10-9 Patriots until halftime.

In the second half, the Patriots got the ball first and came out firing quickly. The Patriots went eight plays for 79 yards and Brady threw a second touchdown pass of the game, a 12-yard strike to tight end Aaron Hernandez, and the Patriots were up 17-9.

The Giants were in a little trouble and needed to respond, because if they had a three-and-out, they might have been finished.

Manning would not show any quit and drove the Giants to the 20-yard line to set up a 38-yard field goal for Lawrence Tynes, cutting it to 17-12 with 6:47 left in the third quarter.

The Giants defense buckled down and didn't allow the Patriots to come back and score again, forcing a three-and-out and a punt.

On the next drive, the Giants got all the way down to the Patriots' 15-yard line and set up a 33-yard field goal for Tynes, cutting the lead to 17-15 Patriots.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Brady avoided getting sacked and heaved the ball downfield in the direction of Rob Gronkowski, but it was intercepted by linebacker Chase Blackburn. Gronkowski had a step downfield, and if he caught the ball he likely would have scored, so the pick by Blackburn is a game-saving play.

With less than five minutes to go, the Patriots were attempting to drive on the Giants and potentially lock away the game. Brady threw a pass intended for Wes Welker, but the ball went right through his hands for an incomplete pass.

If Welker caught the ball, it would have likely ended the game in favor of New England, giving it a first down in the red zone with more time coming off the clock.

The Giants forced another punt and got the ball on their own 12-yard line with 3:53 left in the game, and onto the field came Manning with a chance to lead another fourth-quarter comeback, which is exactly what he did.

On the first play of the drive, Manning threw the ball to the left sideline towards Mario Manningham and he somehow kept his feet inbounds while being pushed out of bounds and hauled in a 38-yard catch at the 50-yard line.

Bill Belichick challenged the play, and the referees upheld the catch, which was the right call. Manningham's catch was absolutely clutch. It might not be on the David Tyree level, but Manningham's catch will live forever as a key Super Bowl play.

Manning completed two more passes to Manningham and one to Hakeem Nicks, getting down to the 14-yard line.

On 2nd-and-6, Bradshaw had a huge hole up the middle and at first, tried to kneel at the 1-yard line to keep the clock going, but lost his balance and fell backwards into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown to put the Giants ahead 21-17 with 1:04 left.

The Giants went for a two-point conversion, but Jacobs missed getting in the end zone, so the score stayed at 21-17.

The Giants were giving the ball back to Brady with a minute left and a chance to win the game.

The kickoff ended up a touchback, so the Patriots started at their 20-yard line.

On first and second down, Brady's passes were incomplete. On third down, Brady was sacked by Justin Tuck, setting up 4th-and-16.

Brady converted the fourth-down pass to Deion Branch for 19 yards, then converted another pass to Hernandez for 11 yards, getting to the Patriots' 33-yard line.

The Giants got called for 12 men on the field, but the clock rolled all the way down to nine seconds left.

On second down, Brady's pass toward Branch was incomplete, setting up 3rd-and-5 with five seconds left in the game.

Which meant a Hail Mary in the end zone.

And on the final play of the game, Brady launched the ball 50 yards into the end zone toward Hernandez, but the ball got knocked down in front of Gronkowski and was an incomplete pass.

The Giants held on to beat the Patriots again in the Super Bowl, 21-17.

Manning went 30-of-40 with 296 yards and a touchdown and was named the Super Bowl MVP, his second Super Bowl MVP Award of his career.

Bradshaw, who didn't play in the Week 9 game, was a big factor in the game with 17 carries for 72 yards and the game-winning touchdown, plus two catches for 19 yards.

The receiving corps of the Giants came up big Sunday night. Nicks had another monster game with 10 catches for 109 yards. Manningham had five catches for 73 yards, which included the huge sideline grab that helped get the Giants going, and while Cruz only had four catches for 25 yards, he caught the lone touchdown pass that got the Giants going early.

On defense, it took the Giants awhile to get pressure on Brady, but in the second half the Giants finally were getting to him. Justin Tuck had the only sacks for the Giants defense, getting two on Brady.

If Manning didn't win the MVP, Tuck could have been a candidate for the award as well.

On the other side, Brady was 27-of-41 with 276 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Brady played a good game, but just wasn't good enough to knock off the Giants.

A big factor in the game was the non-factor of Gronkowski, who had two catches for 26 yards. He had one 20-yard catch, but it was clear his high ankle sprain was limiting him on the field and it showed.

Welker had seven catches for 60 yards, but his fourth-quarter drop shot the Patriots in the foot.

The Patriots fought very hard in this game and were a worthy opponent in the Super Bowl. But for the second time in four years, they were the second-best team.

For the Giants, this win cements the legacy for Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin. Coughlin has won his second Super Bowl as a head coach for the Giants, and is also the oldest coach to ever win the Super Bowl at age 65.

And for Manning, any talk of him not being an elite quarterback ended on Sunday night in Indianapolis. With less than four minutes left and the Giants trailing by two, manning took his team down the field again and led another game-winning drive in the Super Bowl, just like he did four years ago.

And now, not only does Manning have two Super Bowls, but he has two Super Bowl MVP Awards, an elite club that features guys like Bart Starr, Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw and Tom Brady.

A lot of people called the Giants winning four years ago a fluke and called Manning lucky.

Four years later, against the same opponent, Manning silenced all those critics and showed that neither game were a fluke, and Manning isn't lucky, he's a great quarterback who has now won two championships.

The Giants went from 7-7 to 13-7 and Super Bowl champions.

Not even in my wildest dreams did I think the Giants would win the Super Bowl, and yet, after six months of a wild 2011 season, the Giants are the champions of the NFL.

I'll say it one more time, just in case it hasn't sunk in yet: The New York Giants are the 2011 Super Bowl champions.

Enjoy this feeling, Giants fans, because nobody can ever take this moment and memory from you.