The Patriots were 35 seconds away from a perfect record when Eli Manning tossed a 13-yard TD to Plaxico Burress to win the Super Bowl!  Tom Brady completed 29 of 48 passes for 266 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 interceptions.  But, the Giants got into Brady’s head by blitzing him often and drilling him.  Laurence Maroney had a sub par game as he carried the ball 14 times for 36 yards (2.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Kevin Faulk only carried the ball 1 time for 7 yards but he also caught 7 passes for 52 yards (7.4 avg).  Wes Welker was very busy as he led the Patriots with 11 catches for 103 yards (9.4 avg).  Randy Moss also had a semi-decent game as he finished with 5 catches for 62 yards (12.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Patriots finished up with 45 yards rushing on 16 carries (2.8 ypc) and they also completed 29 of 48 passes for 229 yards.

The defense of the Patriots failed in the 4th quarter and it doomed them.  Rodney Harrison led the way for the Patriots with 12 tackles.  Tedy Bruschi (8 tackles) and Adalius Thomas (5 tackles, 2 sacks) both played well for the Patriots.  The Giants finished up with 91 yards rushing on 26 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 34 passes for 247 yards.

This year’s Patriots team will go down as the best team ever not to win a Super Bowl.