Perfection Personified Patriots Mount Come Back Beat Giants 38-35

You witnessed history Saturday night, the Patriots have done what was considered undo-able especially in this the age of “Parity in the NFL. ” New England came back from what appeared to be a sure loss as they trailed the New York Giants in the third quarter by 12 points 28-16 at the 9:12 mark of the third quarter. But the Patriots as they have done throughout this season just got tougher as the game progresses. New England would score the next 22 points of the game, and hold on despite a late Giants touchdown to win and go 16-0 beating New York 38-35. The Patriots, set many more NFL records, on a team and individual basis, but none bigger than this the only team to ever go 16-0 in a NFL Season.

In order for New York to even be competitive in this game, the word all week long was it all comes down to Eli. Son of Archie, brother of Peyton, Manning has never fulfilled the promise expected of him as befits the Number One pick in the NFL Draft. But Manning had a good game as he completed 22/32 for a total of 251 yards 4 touchdowns, 1 interception. Eli played good enough to win, the only problem was in crunch time Tom Brady was better.

The G-Men came out aggressively in the first quarter as Manning hit Brandon Jacobs with a pass up the middle for a 7 yard touchdown at the 10:59 mark of the first quarter. After Lawrence Tynes kicked the point after New York led 7-0. Patriots only score in the quarter came at the 5:19 mark as Steve Gostkowski kicked a 37 yard field goal through the uprights, and the two teams ended the quarter Giants 7 Patriots 3.

New England would briefly take the lead as Brady completed a pass to the right to BFF Randy Moss for a 4 yard touchdown at the 14:55 mark of the second quarter. Gostkowski kicked the point after and the Patriots were up 10-7. The lead was gone in exactly 11 seconds as on the ensuing kickoff Domenik Hixon broke off a 74 yard run for a touchdown, after the Tynes point after it was New York 14 New England 10. Gostkowski would then score the next six consecutive points, with a 45 yard field goal at the 9:59 mark and then exactly 8 minutes later, at the 1:59 mark to put the Pats up 16-14. But Manning with just 13 seconds left in the half wrested the lead back as he completed a pass to Kevin Boss up the middle for another 3 yard touchdown, putting the Giants back on top 21-16 as the two teams went to their respective locker rooms.

New York increased the lead at the 9:12 mark of the third quarter as Manning completed his third touchdown of the game this one to Plaxico Burress. Manning threw a 19 yard pass down the right side of the field and after Tynes kicked the point after, the G-Men led New England 28-16. A lot of teams in similar situations, would have gotten caught up in the moment. New England just got busy, Laurence Maroney, the Pats running back carried the ball 19 times for a total of 46 yards. Oh but what he accomplished in those 46 yards. Maroney put New England on the board at the 4:00 mark of the third as he ran 6 yards into the end zone for a touchdown. Gostkowski kicked the point after, and the lead was was down to 5 points as the two teams headed into the final quarter.

The Patriots re-claimed the lead at the 11:06 mark as Brady and Moss completed a 65 yard touchdown pass. Maroney dove into the end-zone for a 2 point conversion, Patriots were up 31-28, they would never trail again. Maroney then scored his second touchdown of the game at the 4:36 mark this time running to the right for a 5 yard touchdown. Gostkowski’s point after made it 38-28, and that touchdown would prove to be the winning score. Manning hit Burress again with a pass to the right for a 3 yard touchdown, but there was just 1:04 left in the game, Tynes hit the point after, making it 38-35. New York attempted to recover the kickoff but Mike Vrabel pounced on the ball and smothered it. The Patriots had their Perfect regular season.

Brady completed 32/42 for 346 yards 2 touchdowns no interceptions. He now holds the NFL record for most TD’s in a season with 50 breaking Peyton Manning’s mark by 1. Moss with the two touchdowns got 23 for the campaign breaking the record set by Jerry Rice who had completed 22. The Patriots also set the record for most points in a regular season by a NFL team with 589 yards.

For those of us of a certain age, it seems like just yesterday when Billy Sullivan owned the Pats, and they were the joke of the NFL. Those days are far behind, as New England has really been the closest thing to a dynasty, maybe since Bill Walsh and the San Francisco 49ers. The team was vilified after “VideoGate”, but they hung in there with an us against the world mentality. We may never see a team of this caliber again, so appreciate what they accomplished, and enjoy them while you can.

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