New York Giants: How Sunday's Game Winning Drive Resembled Super Bowl XLII

To quote the inimitable Yogi Berra, Sunday's Giants-Patriots game was, in a manner of words, like "déjà vu all over again."

It wasn't just that the Giants once again handed the Patriots an unexpected loss; it was the way they did it that was especially reminiscent of the recent past.

In Super Bowl XLII, New York snapped New England's single season 18-game winning streak, the longest in NFL history, and prevented the Patriots from becoming the only team to ever finish a season 19-0. They did this because Eli Manning led the Giants on an 83-yard drive during the game’s final minutes that resulted in a winning touchdown pass to former Giants receiver Plaxico Burress.

On Sunday, the Giants snapped two more Patriots' streaks: 20 straight home victories for the Patriots and 31 straight home victories for Tom Brady as a starting quarterback.* Once again, it happened because Manning marched the Giants offense down the field in the game's waning moments and threw a winning touchdown pass.

This may seem like coincidence enough, but the way Sunday's drive unfolded made it particularly reminiscent of the winning touchdown drive in Super Bowl XLII. Both drives featured a near interception, one brilliant catch and a fade pass to a back corner of the end zone.

In this slideshow, I'll compare certain plays from each drive and show just how similar the two are.

*Brady sat out the 2008 season with an injured knee and during that time the Patriots lost at home.

Missed Interceptions

Whenever Super Bowl XLII comes up in conversation, most people immediately mention David Tyree's brilliant 32-yard catch—more on that in the next slide.

But what often goes unmentioned is the fact that on the play prior to Tyree's grab, Eli Manning misfired a pass, intended for Tyree, towards the right sideline and the ball was almost, and arguably should have been, intercepted by Patriots defensive back Asante Samuel*. Manning's pass floated high and Samuel got his hands up in time but couldn't come down with the ball. One can't blame Samuel for failing to make what was certainly a challenging play, but that interception would have given New England its perfect season.

On Sunday, Manning once again played with fire, when on the second play of what would turn into the game winning drive, he through a deep ball towards the left sideline. Though it was intended for Victor Cruz, Patriots defensive back Patrick Chung almost came away with an interception. He got his hands on Manning's errant ball but then lost it when he hit the ground.

That play caused Giants fans' hearts to skip a beat and reminded them that a little bit of luck goes a long way when you're playing the Patriots.

*This article originally misspelled Asante Samuel's name.

A Brilliant Catch

As I mentioned in the previous slide, David Tyree's brilliant catch, in which he pinned the ball to his helmet as Rodney Harrison attempted to punch it out, is not only the most memorable play from Super Bowl XLII, but one of the greatest highlights in NFL history. Whether or not it is the best catch ever made in a Super Bowl is up for debate, but the play as a whole, which started with Eli Manning showing some incredible strength and balance to avoid what should have been a sack, has to be one of the five greatest plays to ever transpire on a football field.

Sunday's game-winning drive also featured a brilliant catch. Granted, the level of difficulty was not quite as high as Tyree's grab, but on the fourth play of the drive, facing a 3rd-and-10, Manning threw a pass into double coverage. The intended target, Giants tight end Jake Ballard, jumped up and put his hands over his head to grab the pass before the Patriot’s defensive backs could get their hands on it. He was able to snag it out of the air before hitting the turf.

The play resulted in 33-yard gain for the Giants and put the offense in Patriots territory.

The Winning Touchdown

All great drives must end in a score, and in Super Bowl XLII, the Giants offense had to come away with a touchdown. Trailing 14-10, they could not kick a field goal and send the game into overtime. It was end zone or bust.

The now constantly-maligned Plaxico Burress provided the heroics in that game by burning Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs on a slant-and-go route before catching the game-winning touchdown. That play will remain on Giants highlight reels till the end of time.

On Sunday, the situation was a bit different. Trailing by three, and within field goal range, thanks to a 20-yard pass interference penalty on the Patriots Sergio Brown that put the ball on the one yard line, the Giants offense could play somewhat conservatively.

On 1st-and-goal from the one yard line, Manning unsuccessfully targeted Ballard. On second down, the Giants handed the ball off to Brandon Jacobs. On third down, Manning faked a hand off and rolled to his left before throwing a slight fade pass to Ballard on the left side of the end zone. Ballard made the catch, sealing the game for the Giants.

Dissimilarities

Those two drives are not mirror images of each other, but they do contain enough similar elements to warrant discussion.

The biggest difference is the Giants' drive on Sunday was aided by the aforementioned pass interference penalty. In Super Bowl XLII, the Giants got no help from the Patriots defense.

I find Eli Manning to be a fascinating quarterback. He is obviously adept at playing well under pressure and has the skills and guile to instigate game winning drives in tough situations—it's not easy to win at Foxboro. He can play horribly for three quarters then turn it on in crunch time. 

Yet, he always seems to make at least one dangerous/bone-headed throw per game, and in the process, risks an unnecessary turnover. In this sense, he strikes me as a poor man's Brett Favre—great talent, prone to bad decisions—and I look forward to watching the rest of his career unfold.