Super Bowl matchups of the past have been highlighted in some of this year’s Throwback Thursday posts, and this week’s will feature one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history, the 2008 matchup between the undefeated New England Patriots and the New York Giants. The two franchises play each other on this week’s NFL schedule, with the Giants having another shot at ruining what so far has been a perfect season for the Pats.
But, lest we regress, back to that 2008 Super Bowl meeting. It was Super Bowl XLII, the climax to the 2007 season. The Giants had beaten the Patriots three years earlier in the big game, but this time, circumstances were different. New England, on a league-wide revenge tour after they were accused of cheating by taping opponents’ signals during games, had bulldozed their way through the regular season with a perfect 16-0 record, the first team to finish the regular year unbeaten since the 1972 Miami Dolphins. The Giants were 10-6 in the regular year, but didn’t even win their division, the NFC East, and were attempting to become the first NFC wild card team to win a Super Bowl. Coach Bill Belichick’s Patriots were installed as 12 point favorites, as they had accumulated some awesome offensive statistics during their unbeaten season. They set NFL records for most points scored in a season (589), most touchdowns by a quarterback (Tom Brady with 50) and most touchdowns receiving by a single player (23 by Randy Moss). Moss had been acquired from Oakland before the season after having his worst statistical season the prior year with the Raiders.
The Giants’ defense, however, did an outstanding job of pressuring Brady up the middle all game long, taking him out of his usual comfort zone, and for the most part controlled New England’s attack. Still, when Brady found Moss for a six yard scoring throw with a little under 3 minutes left to put the Pats ahead 14-10, it looked like the perfect 19-0 season was going to be a reality. The Giants then embarked on an 83 yard drive, highlighted by an amazing completion from Giant QB Eli Manning to David Tyree, with Manning barely escaping being sacked and firing the ball downfield to Tyree, who pinned the ball against his helmet with one hand while falling to the ground with the ball secured. When Manning found Plaxico Burress open in the end zone for a 13 yard score with 35 seconds left, the upset was complete. New York’s veteran star defensive end, Michael Strahan, was a big part of his team’s effort to pressure Brady during the game, and decided to go out on top as he retired following the game.
Prior to this game, the Buffalo Bills’ four consecutive losses in the big game was widely considered to be the biggest disappointment in NFL history, but New England’s falling one win short of a perfect record ranks right up there also.
David Tyree’s “helmet catch” helped the Giants clinch the Super Bowl upset