New England Patriots: Ranking the Patriots Super Bowls
#2 Super Bowl XLII New York Giants 17 New England Patriots 14
Patriots fans, look away! In one of the greatest upsets in American sports history, the previously undefeated New England Patriots suffered their sole loss of the 2007 season to the New York Giants on the game’s biggest stage.
Most people will remember this game for David Tyree’s ridiculous helmet catch on the Giants game winning drive late in the fourth quarter, but what shouldn’t be lost in all of this is how well prepared the Giants were for the Patriots aerial attack.
They blitzed Brady constantly, sacking him five times in the game. Perhaps most impressively, they were able to control the clock and keep the Patriots off the field for much of the first half, allowing the game to be a one-half affair.
Brady did engineer a late drive of his own, finding WR Randy Moss open for a 6 yard touchdown with 2:42 remaining in the game, giving the Patriots a 14-10.
But the Giants got one last chance and the rest is history. Eli Manning escaped a sack of Vince Wilfork, heaved a pass for Tyree which he caught while battling safety Rodney Harrison all the way to ground. And, the final nail in the coffin, Manning found Plaxico Burress wide open in single coverage down the left sideline for the game winning, 13 yard touchdown pass.
Brady and the Patriots did get one final gasp with 35 seconds left. But then Jay Alford happened.
The Patriots were left with a lot of regret in this game, none bigger than claiming their spot as the top NFL team in history. But while their heartbreak may never subside from this game, it was, objectively speaking, one of the finest played Super Bowls in modern history.
Game Watchability: 5
Game Importance: 5
Game Legacy: 5
Total: 15, You can’t get a better game than this one, the pain of Patriots fans notwithstanding. It was exciting, had every major storyline, and history would be made regardless of the outcome. It’s impact is still felt, as the Giants seem to be the only thorn on the Patriots side in the Super Bowl (0-2 vs. Giants, 4-0 vs. everyone else in the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era). Many consider this to be one of, if not the, greatest Super Bowl game played to date. And while many Patriot fans even to this day refuse to watch replays of Tyree’s catch, there will be a day down the road when Pats fans will be able to tell their kids where they were when that play happened.
Fun Fact(s): This was the first Super Bowl game since Super Bowl IX when neither team finished with at least 20 points scored. In that game, the PittsburghSteelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings 16-6.