The New York Giants will face off against the New England Patriots two weeks from tonight in Super Bowl XLII. They pulled off another upset by defeating Brett Favre and the Packers 23-20 in overtime. I think this might be one of those games you see on NFL Films 30 years down the road. The Giants did play a lot better than the Packers and deserved to win the game, but two missed field goals and some unlucky bounces made the game closer than it should have been. Eli Manning continued his spectacular play during the postseason as he played another flawless game. He has no interceptions in three playoff games and if he has a fourth, then the Giants have a chance to defeat the Patriots.
There were a few different moments in the game that could have been considered as the turning point. When I was watching the game, I thought Sam Madison's personal foul would be the turning point of the game. If the penalty had not occured, the Packers would have had to face a very important fourth down and might have had to attempt a long field goal. Instead, a first down was granted and Favre threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Donald Lee to give Green Bay a 17-13 lead. But the Giants didn't let the turn of events affect them as they marched down the field and scored on a 4-yard plunge from Ahmad Bradshaw. It gave the Giants a 20-17 lead and the Packers never led again.
It appears as though Favre will return next season considering this is the most talent he has played with since his two Super Bowl appeaances in the late 90s. His interception at the end of this game led to Lawrence Tynes' game winning field goal, but it should have never gotten to that point. The bottom line is that the Giants outplayed the Favre and the Packers and should have won by at least 14 points instead of the three-point overtime margin. Again, Green Bay laid an egg in the cold. They got destroyed by the Bears during a very cold game in Week 16 and today it appeared as if the weather affected the Packers again.
Something about Giants versus Patriots doesn't sound right, but I'm sure I will get used to it by the time Super Bowl Sunday comes around.
Shawn Marosek
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