Reliving how the New York Giants defense thwarted Tom Brady's Super Bowl ambitions not once but twice
Tom Brady is set to take on the New York Giants once again tonight during Monday Night Football. But this time, he is playing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Brady is no stranger to the Giants as he has had a long and storied career against a team that has prevented him from having nine Super Bowl rings. Eli Manning and the Giants served as kryptonite for Tom Brady in the early 2000s and 2010s.
Even in the New England Patriots' historic 16-0 2007 season, Eli Manning and the Giants found a way to spoil the Patriots party, adding another record to their growing list. As they say, "defense wins championships," and that was indeed the case for the Giants.
Which Giants Super Bowl win against Tom Brady was more impressive?
It was 2007, and the Patriots were riding the high of being the best team in the entire NFL. No one could stop their dominance as they steamrolled teams to a 16-0 record to cap off the regular season.
The final game of the regular season saw the Patriots beat the Giants with a final score of 38-35.
The Patriots and Tom Brady likely thought that would be the last they would see of the Giants. The Giants only had a 10-6 record and were looking at the Bucs, Cowboys, and Packers.
They made their way to the Super Bowl and a revenge game against the team that had beaten them weeks prior.
So, what exactly happened during the Super Bowl to help the Giants achieve such success against a team that could not be beaten?
One sure-fire way to attack Tom Brady is head-on. Any time that a team can get into his face, he is more prone to making mistakes.
The issue is that Brady is often protected by one of the best offensive lines in the entire league. However, a physical defensive line can help change the course of the game.
That is exactly what happened when the Giants' 2007 defense took the field.
Giants Upset Undefeated 2007 Patriots | Super Bowl XLII | NFL Full Game youtu.be/S1QkoOUEgyc via @YouTube
An uneventful first quarter led the Giants to kick a field goal, and while the Patriots scored their lone touchdown. During the second quarter, the Giants' defense came alive, as Michael Strahan and James Butler paired to stop a third and one run from the Patriots.
Another Patriots drive stalled when the Giants stopped the Patriots on back-to-back sacks of Tom Brady. The score would remain at 7-3 going into the third quarter.
The third quarter saw much of the same as Strahan playing at another high level, stopping a Patriots scoring attempt when they marched downfield to the Giants 25-yard line. A third-down sack would lead the Patriots to a try for a field goal, which turned into a botched trick play.
The Patriots tried for a fake field goal, but a pass from Tom Brady to Jabbar Gaffney was no good.
The fourth quarter saw the Giants score their first touchdown of the game, leading 10-7 with 11 minutes left. After both teams had back to back 3 and outs, the Patriots answered in turn with their score.
They led the game 14-10 with 2:42 left in the game. The Giants would score a touchdown minutes later and lead 17-14 with 35 seconds left.
That would have been enough time for Brady, but the Giants held strong with seconds left by not allowing any yards. After another sack on Brady that was a loss of 10 yards, the Patriots ended up with a Hail Mary attempt which was batted down by Gibril Wilson, ending in an upset victory for the Giants.
Tom Brady's Patriots vs. Giants, Super Bowl round two
The Patriots, Giants, Tom Brady, and Eli Manning would meet again in the 2012 season and Super Bowl XLVI. Much of the same happened in this game for the Giants and their defense.
The opening quarter saw the Patriots take the defense to the Giants and stop their first drive. However, the Giants would also answer, in turn, with their punter pinning the Patriots at the six-yard line.
A stout pass rush from the Giants once again shone as Brady was nearly sacked in the endzone and threw the ball to no one in the middle of the field. That intentional grounding call in the endzone led to a safety.
A touchdown on the Giants' next drive led to a 9-0 start. The Giants defense once again showed that getting in Brady's face always paid dividends.
The second quarter saw the Giants get stuffed by the Patriots this time around and after a field goal by Stephen Gostowski and a 96-yard drive, the Patriots led 10-9 heading into halftime.
The third quarter became more of a problem as the Giants defense decided to allow Brady to score on the Patriots' opening drive, leaving the score at 17-9. The Giants' next drive would have been more successful as they marched downfield and settled for a field goal, leaving the score at 17-12.
The Giants' defense finally showed up after a Justin Tuck sack by Tom Brady kept the Patriots from marching downfield again, and the Giants went on to get stalled on their next drive, but settled for another field goal, leaving the score at 17-15. Although the Giants' defense had allowed two touchdowns for the Patriots, they did well enough to stop Brady from extending the score further.
The second play of the fourth quarter saw Chase Blackburn intercept a deep pass intended for Rob Gronkowski. Although the play helped tip the scale for the Giants, they were unsuccessful in scoring on that turnover drive.
After a successful pass rush caused Brady to throw an errant pass to Wes Welker, the Giants would get the ball back for a monster play.
The throw from @EliManning.
The grab from @ManninghamNYG.
This was an all-time moment from Super Bowl XLVI! 🤲
46 days until #Kickoff2021! https://t.co/6YuzVCFFDu
Manning to receiver Mario Manningham caused huge gains and a failed challenge on that catch by Bill Belichick. A few plays later, the Patriots were facing a dilemma.
This led to one of the strangest plays in football history. The Patriots allowed Bradshaw to score a touchdown.
Bradshaw had intended to fall on the one-yard line, but his forward momentum carried him into the endzone and the Giants led 21-17. A failed two-point conversion left the score as is, and the Patriots with 57 seconds left.
Again, plenty of time for Tom Brady, but the Giants had other plans. The Patriots' final drive was in trouble when Justin Tuck got to Brady with a sack, leaving their run on third down with sixteen yards to go.
A few successful throws and a "12 man on the field" call allowed the Patriots to move downfield, but with only nine seconds left. Brady would have to attempt another Hail Mary pass that was tipped by Giants defenders and out of the outstretched arms of Rob Gronkowski, giving the Giants their second upset Super Bowl victory over the Patriots.
Bottom line is that to beat Tom Brady, you have to have an established pass rush, and the Giants met the Patriots with enough to secure two historical Super Bowl wins.
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