Once again, though, it was Manning and the Giants making the necessary plays late, driving 88 yards in nine plays, taking 2:49 off the clock, and beating the Patriots last night at Lucas Oil Stadium, 21-17, with a last-minute touchdown.
Four times in the past five seasons, the teams have met when it counted. The three times the Giants have won, they have overcome deficits to win by scoring touchdowns in the final minute. And while this Super Bowl loss might not sting as much as the one four years ago, the manner in which the Patriots let another victory slip away by giving up a Manning-led touchdown drive with just seconds left doesn’t get any easier to stomach.
“It’s like almost getting to the top of Mount Everest, then falling back down,’’ defensive lineman Gerard Warren said. “Today’s a tough day, a tough pill to swallow. Hopefully we’ll get another chance.’’
They had their chance, either a defensive stop or a Giants’ offensive mistake away from nailing down a hard-fought win. But Manning made clear he was intent on doing the same thing he did in Super Bowl XLII, and the same thing he did in this season’s meeting in Foxborough. Both of those times, he stayed calm at the end and guided the Giants into the end zone.
He didn’t waste any time. Needing only a field goal to go ahead and starting the drive from the 12-yard line after the Patriots were forced to punt, Manning threw long for Mario Manningham down the left sideline in front of the Patriots bench on the first play. A step ahead of Sterling Moore, and with Chung charging from the side, Manningham hauled in Manning’s pass and barely got both feet inbounds before falling out of bounds.
“All we can do is try to knock the ball out,’’ Chung said. “It was a good throw, a good catch.’’
The catch happened right in front of Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who challenged the referee’s ruling on the field of a completed pass.
“It was close,’’ Belichick said.
