Just perfect

"To be able to win 'em all is great," conceded the ever-stoic Belichick. "I'm happy about it . . . That was a fun way to finish the season. It's really exciting to be part of this."

Few games are likely to match the drama that unfolded before 79,110 witnesses at the Meadowlands. Meaningless in the standings, a game with no bearing on playoff seeds or home-field advantage, the Patriots and Giants played four quarters of bone-crushing, foot-to-the-floor football.

The big play came with 11 minutes 6 seconds left, when Brady connected with a wide-open Moss on a 65-yard touchdown pass. The perfect parabola put the Patriots ahead for good, while simultaneously booting Peyton Manning and Jerry Rice from the record book. Significant records. Just like 16-0.

"I had to throw it as far as I could," said Brady. "It doesn't get any better than that . . . Everyone's got to enjoy this. I happens once every 35 years."

It was more than must-see TV. Back home in Boston, you couldn't take your eyes off it and you couldn't change channels. Even if you tried. Patriots vs. Giants was a breakthrough television event on a par with the Kennedy-Nixon debates and the first moonwalk. The game was broadcast on three national networks (first NFL simulcast since Super Bowl I in 1967) and aired on Boston's channels 4, 5 and 7, plus the much-maligned NFL Network.

Now it's already an ESPN Classic and bound for the History Channel.

The Giants had been colored as cardboard cutouts, mere props in the coronation of the perfect Patriots. But Tom Coughlin's guys wanted to be giant killers. They wanted to be the men that shot Liberty Valance. They wanted to slay the bullies who vaporized the rest of the NFL in 2007.

Not quite. Not with Brady (32 of 42 passing for 356 yards) on the attack. The Patriots quarterback capped what is certain to be an MVP season with the latest in a long line of comeback victories.

"What I'm most proud of is that we beat a playoff team on the road," said Brady. "We found a way to come back, just like we did in Dallas and Indy. That shows toughness and character."