Super Bowl XLVI

New York Giants 21, New England 17

In the first Super Bowl to feature two starting quarterbacks who previously won the big game's MVP award, Eli Manning and the Giants edged Tom Brady and the Patriots, scoring a late TD for the win. Manning became the first QB to open a Super Bowl with nine consecutive completions; Brady later put together a run of 16 completions in a row, breaking another Super Bowl mark. But with time counting down, Manning directed a nine-play, 88-yard drive that moved New York ahead to stay, capped when Ahmad Bradshaw ran for the winning touchdown with just under a minute to play.

February 5, 2012
Lucas Oil Stadium
Attendance 68,658

Ahmad Bradshaw scored on a 6-yard touchdown run with 57 seconds remaining to cap an 88-yard drive and lead the Giants to their second Super Bowl victory over the Patriots in five years. The triumph was the Giants' franchise's fourth Super Bowl title. The Patriots' defense forced a punt to begin the game, but Steve Weatherford's punt pinned New England back to its own 6-yard line. On the Patriots' first play, Justin Tuck pressured Tom Brady and forced him to pass deep down the middle of the field, where no players were within range, resulting in an intentional grounding penalty. A safety was enforced by rule, giving the Giants a 2-0 lead. Following the ensuing free kick, the Giants drove 78 yards in nine plays, capped by Victor Cruz' 2-yard touchdown catch for a 9-0 advantage. New York led 9-3 late in the first half when Weatherford pinned the Patriots back to their own 4-yard line. This time New England responded with a 96-yard drive, which included a key 12-yard third-down catch by Aaron Hernandez, and was capped by Brady's 4-yard touchdown pass to Danny Woodhead with 15 seconds left in the half to take a 10-9 halftime lead. The Patriots then began the second half with an 8-play, 79-yard drive, sparked by a 21-yard pass to Chad Ochocinco and Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis' 17-yard run, and capped by Hernandez' 12-yard touchdown catch for a 17-9 lead. The Giants answered with a field goal, forced a three-and-out on defense, and generated a second field-goal drive to trim the deficit to 17-15 with 35 seconds left in the third quarter. On the second play of the fourth quarter, Brady attempted a deep pass to Rob Gronkowski that was intercepted by Chase Blackburn at the Giants' 8-yard line. Both teams then traded punts, with the Giants getting the ball on their own 12-yard line with 3:46 to play. On the first play of the possession, Manning launched a perfectly placed pass to Mario Manningham deep down the left sideline. Manningham caught the ball just in bounds with two Patriots' defenders in close pursuit. Passes of 16 yards, to Manningham, and 14 yards, to Hakeem Nicks, put the Giants at the Patriots' 18 with 2:00 remaining. Bradshaw gained seven yards on the first play following the 2-minute warning, and Manning completed a 4-yard pass to Nicks that resulted in a first down. After Bradshaw gained 1 yard, his next run up the middle resulted in the go-ahead touchdown with 57 seconds remaining. Faced with fourth-and-16 with 39 seconds left, Brady completed a 19-yard pass to Deion Branch and then an 11-yard pass to Hernandez. A 12-men-on-the-field penalty with 17 seconds left pushed the ball to the Patriots' 49, but Brady's Hail Mary pass fell incomplete in the end zone as time expired. Manning was 30 of 40 for 296 yards and 1 touchdown and was named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player. Nicks had 10 catches for 109 yards. Brady completed 27 of 41 passes for 276 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 1 interception.

Game Notes

QB Tom Brady and T Matt Light tied an NFL record by starting in their 5th Super Bowl. They join Cornelius Bennett, John Elway, and Charles Haley.

Brady passed for 276 yards against the Giants in the Super Bowl to become the all-time leading passer in Super Bowl history with 1,277 passing yards.

Brady threw 2 touchdown passes against the Giants to increase his Super Bowl total to 9. Brady is tied for the second with Terry Bradshaw, behind Joe Montana's 11 Super Bowl touchdown passes.

Brady completed 16 straight pass completions to set a Super Bowl record. The previous record was by Joe Montana, who had 13 straight pass completions in Super Bowl 24.