Super G-Men!

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE

Super G-Men! The New York Giants Cap a Magical Season as 2012 Super Bowl Champs!

Super G-Men!

The New York Giants Cap a Magical season as 2012 Super Bowl Champs!

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www.rylinmedia.com Chairman of the Board: President: Editor-in-Chief: Chief Designer: Senior Writer: Writer: Writer: Operations Director: Executive Assistant: Librarian: Web Master: Research Coordinator: Photo Editor: Photos Provided By: Research Assistant:

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CONTENTS

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A Season of Destiny Takes Shape 2011 Outlook

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NFC Wild Card Playoffs

Giants Over Falcons

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NFC Championship Giants over Niners

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The 2011 Regular Season The Giants Win the NFC East

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NFC Divisional Playoffs

Giants over Packers

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He’s the Manning!

The Evolution of Eli Manning

Super Bowl XLVI Giants over Patriots

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FOREWORD

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Whoever said ‘history doesn’t repeat itself’, or ‘lightning doesn’t strike twice’, needs to acquaint themselves with the New York Giants real soon. Wasn’t it just four years ago critics considered the team dead in the middle of the season, than watched the G-Men catch fire, romp through the playoffs with epic wins in Green Bay and other enemy territory, than bring home Super Bowl hardware thanks to bone-jarring defense, a miraculous catch, and a stunning fourth quarter rally led by the best Manning quarterback in the family?

Beating Bill Belichick and Tom Brady was so much fun the first time the Giants just had to do it again, and by winning Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, the fourth for the franchise and 2nd for Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin, fans are floating on Cloud Nine and the Giants themselves are flying in some pretty rare air that usually lands the leaders of it in Canton, Ohio.

Congrats to a true modern-day dynasty and their passionate and loyal fans. Enjoy this look back at a magical season for the most resilient and mentally tough collection of ballers the NFL has ever witnessed. It’s a true celebration of a team Giants’ fans will never forget and Tom Brady wished he’d never seen.

Tom Zenner @tomzenner Editor in Chief Rylin Media

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A Season of Destiny Takes

Shape

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2011 Outlook

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You would think finishing 10-6 would be good enough to get you an invitation into the playoff party. But in 2010, that wasn’t the case for

the Giants. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles took the NFC East crown, and for the second consecutive year following their 2008 Super Bowl victory, the Giants were left on the outside looking in.

And so the normal questions persisted. Tom Coughlin, who seems to sit on a perpetually hot seat despite being one of the longest tenured and most successful coaches in the league, was once again being questioned.

Is it time for a change? If the Giants get off to a bad start, how long will Coughlin last? This stuff goes with the territory in New York, of course, but what does a coach have to do? And what about Eli? He’s already won a Super Bowl, but does he belong in the conversation of elite quarterbacks? He sure thinks so. And when he was asked that very question, he wasn’t shy about saying so. Yes. Eli Manning is an elite quarterback. And as we know now, in a town where a certain team likes to do a lot of talking, he more than backed those words up.

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Because of a tricky injury situation and questions about his health, Steve Smith would not be around to help Eli in 2011. Smith had proven to be one of the league’s most productive possession receivers, a security blanket who runs the underneath routes and moves the chains. And to make matters worse, he was signed by the Eagles. So now, presuming his health would come around, the Giants would possibly have to face their old go-to guy two times in a pair of games that figured to have significant impact on the divisional race.

The Giants also lost tight end Kevin Boss to the Oakland Raiders, erasing another one of Eli’s favorite targets, especially in the red zone and on third down. But the staples were still in place. Eli. Hakeem Nicks presenting a matchup nightmare on the outside. But more than anything, Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs spoke to the identity of the Giants. They were a tough, rugged team that would slug it out using their big backs and timely throws. There had been some tension with Jacobs in late 2010 with the number of carries he was 11

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(2011 Preseason) Giants at Panthers L 10 - 20

(2011 Preseason) Giants vs Bears W 41 - 13 getting, or not getting, and questions remained as to how Kevin Gilbride and the offensive staff was going to find a balance everyone could be happy with.

But the Giants have a way of making things work, and they proved it again in 2011. They’re a team.

First and foremost.

And on days when the offense wasn’t hitting on 12

all cylinders, the defense figured to be improved. The defensive line, led by Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora was going to provide its normal, relentless pass rush -- and this kid on the outside, this Jason Pierre-Paul, was something of a freak. Basically unblockable. A world-class athlete wrapped up in the body of a WWE wrestler. A pass rush like that makes a secondary that

(2011 Preseason) Giants vs Jets L 3 - 17

(2011 Preseason) Giants at Patriots W 18 - 17 includes Antrelle Rolle and cornerback Prince Amukamara -- the Giants’ first-round pick out of Nebraska -- even better.

The preseason came quick with the lockout finally ending in August, and the Giants tuned up with two wins and two losses. Ironically, in their final pre-season game, they beat New England 18-17.

So in the end, it seemed like the same old Giants; the most stable yet questioned team in the league. The team with the coach and the quarterback who never flinch that people are always ready to write off. The team that has made a living out of winning big games.

And this year, for the second time in four seasons, they would, of course, go on to win the biggest game.

Time to look inside the journey of how they did it.

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New York Giants

2011

Regular Season

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9 Wins 7 Losses NFC Eastern Division Champions!

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Game 1: Giants at Redskins

The New York Giants’ Super Bowl quest got off to a heartfelt start, as the season opener at FedEx Field, home turf of the hated Washington Redskins, represented the 10th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Both cities, of course, were heavily impacted by the attacks. During the national anthem, players from both teams came together in the holding of a massive American flag that covered the entire field. It was humbling. It was emotional. It was an appropriate ceremony.

And then it was time to play football.

And on that front, it wasn’t exactly the type of season opener the Giants were looking for, as the Redskins pretty much had their way with their divisional rival. Rex Grossman spread the ball around against a

depleted Giants defense that was missing, most notably, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora and cornerback Prince Amukamara. That’s a lot of missing parts!

Eli Manning and the offense just couldn’t sustain any momentum, barely mustering a hundred total yards in the second half as New York lost in Washington for the first time since 2005.

The positive note was that Eli started his 111th consecutive game, most among active quarterbacks, as older brother Peyton’s 227 straight starts streak came to an end due to his highly-publicized neck surgery that would eventually cost him the entire season. As the season wore on, Giants fans would come to appreciate and celebrate their soft-spoken quarterback even more than they already did.

Champs Chat “We shot ourselves in the foot.”

- Giants OT Kareem McKenzie (on the loss) “We have a Monday Night game coming up. We prepare for that and go out there and have a great week of practice and try to get better.”

- Giants QB Eli Manning “I’m disappointed, as to be expected, in the loss. We took a long hard look at the tape and the players took a look at the tape as well. There is not enough execution.”

- Giants Coach Tom Coughlin 16

09.25.2012 09.11.2011

GIANTS GIANTS

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14

GIANTS REDSKINS

16 28

Champs Stats PASSING Eli Manning

C/AT YDS TD 18/32 268 0

INT 1

RUSHING ATT YDS TD Ahmad Bradshaw 13 44 1 Brandon Jacobs 6 29 0

LG 7 14

RECEIVING REC YDS TD Hakeem Nicks 7 122 0 Jake Ballard 2 59 0 Mario Manningham 4 49 0

LG 68 41 24

Champs Facts

• The Giants are 49-33-5 on Kickoff Weekend.

• Eli Manning started his 104th consecutive regular season game.

• Ahmad Bradshaw rushed for 44 yards to increase his career total to 2,602. That moved him into 11th place on the Giants’ career list.

• To honor the memory of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Giants’ players, coaches and sideline personnel wore NYPD, FDNY and Port Authority Police caps. Coughlin wore a Port Authority hat in the first quarter, an NYPD hat in the second quarter and an FDNY hat for the second half. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell participated in the pregame coin toss.

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Game 2: Giants vs Rams

What better way for the Giants to rebound from their loss to the Redskins than against the hapless Rams on Monday night? The matchup pitted Tom Coughlin against Rams coach and former understudy Steve Spagnuolo – who, you might remember, was the defensive coordinator who helped the Giants win the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots in 2008.

Benefitting from good field position and plenty of Rams miscues, Eli and the offense finally found some traction. After taking advantage of a muffed punt,

Eli hit Hakeem Nicks for a 3-yard touchdown before Domenik Hixon made a juggling catch for a 22-yard score. Even the defense got in on the action, with Michael Boley recovering a fumble and running it in for the Giants’ first defensive TD since 2009.

There were no points for style. The Giants certainly could’ve been better, and the Rams, realistically, couldn’t have been worse. But Eli hit 16 of his final 18 passes to go with a pair of touchdowns and the Giants pulled their mark to an even 1-1. In the NFL, a win’s a win.

Champs Chat “We try to push each other, and there were a lot more points that we left out on the field. We have a lot of improving to do, but it definitely feels good to get the win.”

- Giants WR Domenik Hixon “We made some big third down conversions tonight. We had Victor Cruz and Mario make some big third down conversions. I still think we are a whole lot better than what we showed.”

- Giants RB Brandon Jacobs (on 3rd down conversion improvement) “We feel like it is starting to come together but we still have to take it one week at a time.”

- Giants WR Hakeem Nicks 18

09.25.2012 09.19.2011

GIANTS RAMS

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GIANTS GIANTS

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Champs Stats PASSING Eli Manning

C/AT YDS TD 19/30 223 2

INT 1

RUSHING ATT YDS TD Ahmad Bradshaw 15 59 0 Brandon Jacobs 16 50 1

LG 15 9

RECEIVING REC YDS TD Mario Manningham 3 56 0 Ahmad Bradshaw 5 45 0 Hakeem Nicks 4 38 1

LG 31 23 23

Champs Facts • The Giants improved to 1-1 and won their fifth consecutive game against the Rams, their longest winning streak in a series that began in 1938.

• Eli Manning has now thrown at least one interception in each of his last 7 regular-season games, tying the longest such streak of his career.

• The Giants hosted a Monday Night Football game for the first time in the eight-year Tom Coughlin era.

• The victory was the Giants’ first at home on a Monday night since Oct. 18, 1999, when they defeated Dallas.

• The Giants’ record on Monday Night Football is 22-31-1.

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Game 3: Giants at Eagles

The Eagles had dubbed themselves the ‘Dream Team,’ but in Week 3, with the benefit of a late rally, the Giants were more than happy to help Philly wake up from their dream, and face the reality of the fact that they would be having a very long year.

Despite being labeled as questionable after suffering a concussion in a Week 2 loss to Atlanta, Michael Vick did in fact suit up. But the Giants’ defense was relentless, and eventually, after a hard shot by Chris Canty, Vick was knocked out of the game with a broken hand. And that opened the door for the late surge.

Once down 14-0 and seemingly on the ropes, Eli wound up throwing for four touchdowns – two of which went to Victor Cruz, the fiery, salsa-dancing receiver Giants fans would soon fall head-overheels in love with. Aaron Ross bounced back from a tough game in St. Louis to pick off two passes, both of which set up New York scores in a game that was much closer than the score indicated.

Hard as it was to believe, it was the first time the Giants had beaten the hated Eagles in three seasons, snapping a six-game losing streak that felt like six years.

Champs Chat

“We got off to a good start today, which was very important, and then they came rushing back, as they usually do. They had all kinds of time of possession, we fought our way back in the second half.”

- Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin (on his team’s performance) “You know, I was proud, proud of the way we hung in there. We didn’t make the big mistakes; we didn’t turn the ball over, got some pressure, made some sacks and things. Hung in there.”

- Giants QB Eli Manning (on responding in the fourth quarter) “I think this was a big win. We had not beaten Philly here in a while, and this was a big game.”

- Giants RB Brandon Jacobs 20

09.25.2012 09.25.2011

GIANTS GIANTS

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GIANTS EAGLES

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Champs Stats PASSING Eli Manning

C/AT YDS TD 16/23 254 4

INT 0

RUSHING ATT YDS TD Ahmad Bradshaw 15 86 0 Brandon Jacobs 7 19 0

LG 37 6

RECEIVING REC YDS TD Victor Cruz 3 110 2 Ahmad Bradshaw 5 53 1 Brandon Jacobs 2 42 1

LG 74 26 40

Champs Facts • Miami Heat star LeBron James was on the field before the game. He was in town to play in an exhibition basketball game with other NBA All-Stars.

• The Giants were again without Pro Bowl DE Osi Umenyiora and first-round draft pick Prince Amukamara.

• WR Mario Manningham missed this game due to a concussion.

• DE Jason Pierre-Paul left the game late in the 4th after getting banged up, but still finished with 2 sacks.

• The Giants defense finished with 2 sacks, 3 INT’s, and 1 forced fumble.

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Game 4: Giants at Cardinals

With a 2-1 record and a big win over Philly under their belt, the Giants returned to the site of their unforgettable 2008 Super Bowl victory. And again, they pulled out a close one on the natural grass surface of the indoor stadium in Arizona. It was, however, becoming a theme – and a troubling one at that – that the Giants were playing sloppy early in games, and once again they needed to stage a furious surge to pull this one out.

In a sign of things to come, Eli, as cool as ever under pressure, connected on two fourth-quarter touchdowns in a span of just 58 seconds to give the Giants

the victory. You were starting to see the signs that had been there in spots for years; that Eli Manning was one of those quarterbacks who you can count on to make big plays in big situations. One of the themes of this Super Bowl run, if not the theme, would be the confidence Eli played with in the tensest moments of the biggest games. Eli was unflappable, and this game in Arizona was a bit of foreshadowing.

Pretty win? Not by any means. But Tom Coughlin’s boys were fast becoming one of the teams to beat in a NFC East that some experts didn’t figure they’d be able to compete in this season.

Champs Chat “Well, it was fun. We hung in there. We found a way to finish.”

- Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin “It was a great feeling being back where I was drafted. I had a lot of friends here. The Arizona Cardinals were great to me. They’re a first-class organization, but it’s always good to get a win, no matter where it is.”

- Giants Safety Antrel Rolle (on coming back to Arizona to play his former team) “It’s good for the team. We fought hard until the last minute. We knew it would come down to the wire.

We know Arizona is a good team.”

- Giants WR Hakeem Nicks (on completing the comeback) 22

09.25.2012 10.02.2011

GIANTS GIANTS

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GIANTS CARDINALS

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Champs Stats PASSING Eli Manning

C/AT YDS TD INT 27/40 321 2 0

RUSHING ATT YDS TD Ahmad Bradshaw 12 39 1 Brandon Jacobs 9 18 1

LG 13 7

RECEIVING Hakeem Nicks Victor Cruz Jake Ballard

LG 29 26 21

REC YDS TD 10 162 1 6 98 0 3 33 1

Champs Facts

• The Giants are a perfect 3-0 in University of Phoenix Stadium.

• It was the second week in a row the Giants came back from a fourth-quarter deficit to win on the road.

• The Giants outscored Arizona in the fourth quarter, 21-7.

• The Giants’ 306 net passing yards was their highest total since Nov. 2010.

• With a game-time outdoor temperature of 97 degrees, the retractable roof at University of Phoenix Stadium was closed.

• The Giants won their third consecutive game under a roof, and are 9-3 in regular season indoor games under Tom Coughlin.

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Game 5: Giants vs Seahawks

This was easily the most disappointing Giants loss of the season, as they basically lost at their own game: blowing a fourth-quarter lead by allowing the Seahawks to rally.

The game started fast and furious, with the teams trading 80-yard touchdown drives.

Eli Manning had a huge game, with 420 yards and three touchdowns, but he also threw three interceptions – the last of which was a killer. After the Giants let Seattle’s backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst connect with Doug Baldwin for a 27-yard touchdown to take the lead, Eli drove the offense the length of the field, using consecutive hookups of 41 and 19

yards with Victor Cruz, to set up the potential goahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter. But from the 10-yard-line, his next pass tipped off Cruz’s hands and into the arms of Brandon Browner, who went 94 yards to the house to seal it for the Seahawks.

This one was a tough one to swallow. First the Giants were up, then they gave up the lead, and then they lost a chance to pull out yet another late victory to a fluke play. It seems that when you keep letting games come down to the wire, when you keep playing with fire, once in a while you’re going to get burned. And on this day, the Giants got too close to the flame.

Champs Chat

“It is embarrassing, as good as we have been playing the last couple weeks to come out here and lay an egg.”

- Giants DE Dave Tollefson “We played poorly. When you don’t deserve to win you don’t win.”

- Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin “You know in the NFL that every game you have to play well if you expect to win. You can’t just play mediocre. You can’t make mistakes.”

- Giants QB Eli Manning 24

09.25.2012 10.09.2011

GIANTS SEAHAWKS

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GIANTS GIANTS

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Champs Stats PASSING Eli Manning

C/AT YDS TD 24/39 420 3

INT 3

RUSHING ATT YDS TD Ahmad Bradshaw 17 58 0 Eli Manning 3 5 0

LG 13 3

RECEIVING Victor Cruz Jake Ballard Hakeem Nicks

LG 68 32 19

REC YDS TD 8 161 1 3 72 1 4 65 1

Champs Facts

• Two Giants, guard Chris Snee and long snapper Zak DeOssie, sustained concussions.

• The Giants had six sacks, led by Jason Pierre-Paul with 2½.

• This was the first time both the Giants and their opponents scored touchdowns on their opening drives since Nov. 2007.

• In both of their losses – vs. Seattle and at Washington - the Giants have been tied at halftime, 14-14.

• Eli Manning completed 24 of 39 passes for a career-high 420 yards.

• This was the fourth time in his career that Manning threw at least three touchdown passes and three interceptions in the game same.

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Game 6: Giants vs Bills

Big news: The Giants’ running showed some actual life in this game, with Ahmad Bradshaw laboring for a season-high 104 yards and three separate one-yard touchdowns to take some of the pressure off Eli. The Bills came in as one of the true surprises of the young season, and behind quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, they were able to drive for two early touchdowns. New York hung tough, however, going on a 17-3 run that was capped off by the third of Bradshaw’s touchdowns with just over six minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Now, with a 24-17 lead, it was up to the Giants’

defense to stake its claim, after Lawrence Tynes’ 51yard field goal that would’ve put the Giants up ten was blocked. Osi Umenyiora sacked Fitzpatrick to set up a second-and-20, but the Bills overcame the setback, and Stevie Johnson eventually hauled in the game-tying touchdown with just under nine minutes to play.

But just like he would do on numerous occasions in this magical season – Eli came though when he needed to, driving the ball into position for Lawrence Tynes to connect on a game-winning 23-yard field goal, with just over a minute to play, sending the Gmen into their bye week in first place.

Champs Chat “I love winning before a bye.”

- Giants QB Eli Manning “We still have a long ways to go, but it is easily corrected off of a ‘W’ instead of a ‘L’.”

- Giants CB Corey Webster “Anytime I have a chance, trying to put the team on my back, keep making plays and that is what I plan to do.”

- Giants RB Ahmad Bradshaw “They got to us rushing the passer, and we didn’t get to them.”

- Bills Coach Chan Gailey 26

09.25.2012 10.16.2011

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GIANTS GIANTS

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Champs Stats PASSING Eli Manning

C/AT YDS TD 21/32 292 0

INT 0

RUSHING ATT YDS TD Ahmad Bradshaw 26 104 3 D.J. Ware 5 19 0

LG 30 5

RECEIVING REC YDS TD Hakeem Nicks 4 96 0 Jake Ballard 5 81 0 Mario Manningham 5 56 0

LG 60 24 16

Champs Facts • Tom Coughlin is 11-5 in pre-bye games, including 6-2 with the Giants.

• The Giants rushed for a season-high 112 yards.

• The Giants did not allow a sack for the first time since the 2010 season finale at Washington.

• This was the first time since their victory over Jacksonville (Nov. 28, 2010) that the Giants did not allow a sack or commit a turnover in the same game.

• Eli Manning had no touchdowns and no interceptions for the first time since October 3, 2010.

• The Giants are 29-8 when Manning does not throw an interception.

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Game 7: Giants vs Dolphins

Big surprise. Another nail-biter. The last thing the Giants needed was to come out of their bye week and lose to a winless team. And the game was even more important when you considered the treacherous schedule the Giants had in front of them, with dates against the Packers, Patriots, Saints, 49ers, Eagles and Jets all looming in the final ten games.

Once again Eli and the offense found themselves with their back against the wall, trailing by 11 late in the second quarter, though a seven-yard TD pass to Mario Manningham trimmed the Miami lead to 14-10 heading into the locker room.

It was a strange game, in that Eli and company were moving the ball. In fact, Manning wound up

throwing for 349 yards and would’ve thrown for a lot more if not for two drops on long passes by Hakeem Nicks and tight end Jake Ballard. It seemed the Giants couldn’t stop shooting themselves in the foot. But all’s well that ends well, and after the teams traded field goals, Manning found Victor Cruz for the 25-yard game-winning touchdown with just under six minutes to play.

Cruz was becoming a star. Fast. On that gamewinning catch he broke free from a tackle at the fiveyard line to send the Giants’ crowd into a frenzy. You could say one thing about the New York Giants thus far: they were becoming an extremely entertaining team to watch.

Champs Chat “We thought we were still going to win the game, and that’s just the confidence we have, and that stems from Eli.” - Giants G Chris Snee “We knew we were going to get pressured, we probably got pressure 40-50 percent of the time. But Eli made some big plays.”

- Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin “He (Eli) is a clutch player, no matter what happens, he stays calm and rises to the occasion.”

- Giants C David Baas 28

09.25.2012 10.30.2011

GIANTS DOLPHINS

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GIANTS GIANTS

16 20

Champs Stats PASSING Eli Manning

C/AT YDS TD 31/45 349 2

INT 0

RUSHING ATT YDS TD Ahmad Bradshaw 13 50 0 Brandon Jacobs 4 10 0

LG 18 5

RECEIVING REC YDS TD Victor Cruz 7 99 1 Hakeem Nicks 6 67 0 Mario Manningham 6 63 1

LG 26 17 14

Champs Facts • The game was the Giants’ 1,200th regular-season game.

• The Giants gained 402 total yards, their third consecutive 400-yard game.

• The Giants had no turnovers for the second straight game. The Giants have won each of their last six games in which they did not commit an offensive turnover.

• The Giants had both their starting offensive and defensive lines intact for the first time this season.

• The 300-yard game was the 17th of Manning’s career, tying him with Kerry Collins for second in Giants history. Phil Simms is first with 21.

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Game 8: Giants at Patriots

This was one of those games that everyone circles on the schedule, but who could’ve known that it would prove to be a Super Bowl preview. There was just something that lingered when you saw these two teams on the field together, when you saw Eli and Brady trading blows that took you back to that epic Super Bowl in Arizona. Before the season, Eli was criticized for calling himself an elite quarterback. Critics and haters didn’t want to put him in Tom Brady’s class yet.

All the storylines were in place, and this one definitely lived up to the hype.

As it played out, New York found itself trailing – go

figure – by a score of 20-17 with just over 1:30 to play in the game. Tom Brady had just hit Rob Gronkowski for a go-ahead 14-yard score, and the Foxboro fans were going nuts. Could Eli do it again?

You bet he could. And just like in the 2008 Super Bowl, the eventual game-winning drive was highlighted by an amazing catch over the middle, this time a 28-yarder to Jake Ballard – who also capped the comeback with a one-yard TD reception with 15 seconds to play. Of the Giants’ six wins, this was the fifth that had come in the fourth quarter, and it was certainly the most rewarding.

The big question now was could this continue?

Champs Chat “I knew we would win. It definitely took me back to the Super Bowl.”

- Giants RB Brandon Jacobs “If it was thrown anywhere else, I wouldn’t have caught it. You dream about making catches like that.”

- Giants TE Jake Ballard (on his winning reception) “I’d rather be down by three with a minute-thirty (left) than up by four with a minute-thirty with Tom Brady on the field.”

- Giants QB Eli Manning 30

09.25.2012 11.06.2011

GIANTS GIANTS

GIANTS PATRIOTS

29 24

16 20

Champs Stats PASSING Eli Manning

YDS TD 250 2

INT 1

ATT YDS TD 18 72 1 7 23 0

LG 11 10

RECEIVING REC YDS TD Victor Cruz 6 91 0 Jake Ballard 4 67 1 Mario Manningham 3 33 1

LG 23 30 14

RUSHING Brandon Jacobs D.J. Ware

C/AT 20/39

Champs Facts • The Giants have forced at least one turnover in 21-straight regular season games.

• The Giants have14 players remaining from the 2008 Super Bowl team, the Patriots have seven.

• The Giants scored the game-winning touchdown with 15 seconds remaining when Eli Manning threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Jake Ballard, ending an eight-play, 80-yard drive.

• The Giants’ winning drive was reminiscent of their game-winning drive vs. the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. That was a 12-play, 83-yard march that finished with a Manning touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds remaining.

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Game 9: Giants at 49ers

The Giants went from one tough game to another, and just for fun, they had to travel cross-country, too.

Under first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh the 49ers were, perhaps, the NFL’s most surprising team thus far. Their defense was playing like a wall and Alex Smith was finally living up to his potential.

And so the same old storyline played out, the game nip-and-tuck before the Giants pulled ahead 13-12 on a Manning-to-Manningham touchdown late in the third quarter. It figured to be a defensive struggle that would go right down to the wire, but San Francisco scored two touchdowns and a two-point conversion

in a literal minute to go up 27-13 early in the fourth.

Manning, who again threw for more than 300 yards, found Hakeem Nicks for a 32-yard score with just under nine minutes to play to get New York back within seven, but their chance to send the game to overtime ended when a potential touchdown pass sailed just over the outstretched fingertips of Mario Manningham. It was a tough loss, and the type of game the Giants were getting used to winning, but at 6-3, New York was still right in the thick of the race in the NFC East.

Champs Chat “I thought we were in perfect control. I thought we would get there, score and win it in overtime. We’ve done well in those situations and I expected to do well again. I’m very disappointed.”

- Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin “I don’t take any credit. It’s these men. These mighty, strong men. They deserve the credit.”

- 49ers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh “It was a big win for us. As we continue to win we’re getting on a bigger stage, and that’s exactly what we want.”

- 49ers QB Alex Smith 32

09.25.2012 11.13.2011

GIANTS GIANTS

29 20

GIANTS 49ers

16 27

Champs Stats PASSING Eli Manning

C/AT YDS TD 26/40 311 2

INT 2

ATT YDS TD 18 55 0 9 34 0

LG 15 7

RECEIVING REC YDS TD Victor Cruz 6 84 0 Mario Manningham 6 77 1 Hakeem Nicks 2 41 1

LG 36 18 32

RUSHING Brandon Jacobs D.J. Ware

Champs Facts

• In a losing effort, the Giants shut down the 49ers’ powerful run game, holding Frank Gore to zero yards on six carries before the Niners’ top back left with an ankle injury.

• The Giants gained more yards (395-305), had more first downs (21-16) and owned the ball significantly longer (34:37-25:23) than San Francisco.

• The starting quarterbacks – Manning and San Francisco’s Alex Smith – were the No. 1 overall selections of the 2004 and 2005 NFL Drafts.

• Coughlin lost for the first time in five career games vs. the 49ers.

• Manning completed his first 10 passes. It was the second time this season he completed 10 passes in a row.

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Game 10: Giants vs Eagles

Tom Coughlin’s 250th game as an NFL head coach was a big one. The Giants wanted to get back on track, and with Michael Vick out and Vince Young in as the Eagles’ starter, the opportunity to do so seemed ripe. But Philly, which was clinging to its own playoff hopes, had other plans.

Eli and the offense just never could get on track.

Victor Cruz caught a 25-yard touchdown, but that was it. New York couldn’t even muster 30 yards on the ground, and Eli was under pressure all day long, getting sacked three times and being constantly hurried.

The bright spot was the Giants’ defense, which was

equally bruising. But with the score tied 10-10, Vince Young led the Eagles on the defining drive, using 18 plays over nearly nine minutes before Riley Cooper caught the go-ahead, and eventual game-winning 8-yard touchdown.

It seemed this was what you were going to get with the 2011-2012 Giants: close games that could go ether way. You like having Eli on your side in those kinds of contests, but the running game that had become a Giants’ staple needed to get back into the mix.

The loss dropped New York to 6-4 and into a firstplace tie with Dallas.

Champs Chat

“This is as big a disappointment as we have had around here in a long time.”

- Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin “Everybody needs to look themselves in the mirror, myself included, and that’s the only way we can be the team we want to be and get to the playoffs.”

- Giants LB Mark Herzlich “The only bright side that I can think of is that we still have a lot of games to play.”

- Giants LB Mathias Kiwanuka

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“They outplayed us and they wanted it more than we did.”

- Giants RB Brandon Jacobs

09.25.2012 11.20.2011

GIANTS EAGLES

GIANTS GIANTS

29

17

16 10

Champs Stats PASSING Eli Manning

C/AT 18/35

YDS TD 264 1

INT 1

RUSHING Brandon Jacobs Da’Rel Scott

ATT YDS TD 12 21 0 2 11 0

LG 9 8

RECEIVING Victor Cruz Hakeem Nicks D.J. Ware

REC YDS TD 6 128 1 3 69 0 2 17 0

LG 47 47 10

Champs Facts • This was Coughlin’s 250th regular-season game, making him the 19th head coach in NFL history to reach the mark.

• Giants Pro Bowl G Chris Snee played sick and threw up several times during the game.

• Cancer survivor and Giants rookie LB Mark Herzlich had four tackles in his NFL debut.

• Prince Amukamara, the Giants’ first-round draft choice, had a memorable NFL debut. On his second NFL play, he intercepted a Vince Young pass intended for DeSean Jackson.

• The Eagles scored their game-winning touchdown on an 18-play, 80-yard drive in the fourth quarter.

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Game 11: Giants at Saints

These days, heading to the Superdome to take on Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints is nothing short of a nightmare. The offense, in that building, is virtually unstoppable – and on this day, that was once again the case.

Before the Giants could even blink they were down 21-3, with Brees picking them apart with a surgeon’s precision. And it seems that when you’ve already lost two straight, the momentum of a game sweeps you up even faster than it normally would. New York momentarily got back in it when Brandon Jacobs scored from eight yards out to cut the lead to 21-10 early in the third quarter, but then Brees quickly countered with his own 8-yard touchdown scamper. Less than

two minutes later, after Giants running back Da’Rel Scott fumbled inside his own thirty, New Orleans iced it with a 29-yard Jimmy Graham touchdown.

You can’t turn the ball over against the Saints and expect to win. You can’t do a lot of things the Giants did and expect to come out on the right side of the scoreboard. But most of the credit has to go to Brees and the New Orleans offense. They were finding their rhythm in a huge way, and most thought they were going to be the team that would challenge the Packers for NFC supremacy.

Speaking of Green Bay, a home date against the undefeated Packers was next up for the Giants, who had now lost three straight.

Champs Chat “It’s hard not to know when you’re getting your butt whipped. It’s hard to smile when you’re losing like that.”

- Giants DE Justin Tuck “We didn’t stop them. How much further explanation do you want?”

- Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin “We can’t get down and we can’t get frustrated. We have to figure out how to bounce back.”

- Giants QB Eli Manning 36

09.25.2012 11.28.2011

GIANTS GIANTS

29 24

GIANTS SAINTS

16 49

Champs Stats PASSING Eli Manning

C/AT YDS TD 33/47 406 2

INT 1

RUSHING Brandon Jacobs D.J. Ware

ATT YDS TD 13 46 1 5 23 0

LG 9 9

RECEIVING Victor Cruz Hakeem Nicks Jake Ballard

REC YDS TD 9 157 2 7 87 0 3 47 0

LG 72 23 24

Champs Facts • The Giants lost their third consecutive game and fell to 6-4, and out of first place in the NFC East.

• The 25-point loss was the Giants’ worst since a 45-17 loss in Green Bay on Dec. 26, 2010.

• Eli Manning completed 21 straight passes for the Giants -- most after the outcome was decided.

• Drew Brees is 4-0 against the Giants in his career, and has thrown 11 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

• Brees has passed for at least one TD in 38 straight games, the second-longest streak in NFL history.

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Game 12: Giants vs Packers

If ever there were a moral victory in the NFL, this might be considered one. The Giants played valiantly against a Packers team that had hardly been challenged all year, even tying the game with less than a minute to go on a 2-yard TD to Hakeem Nicks and the subsequent 2-point conversion. The New York fans were rocking, as Aaron Rodgers and company sat on their own twenty, but at the same time, in the back of everyone’s mind, were those 59 seconds. For an offense like the Packers’, and a quarterback like Rodgers, 59 seconds is an eternity.

And wouldn’t you know it, Rodgers started slinging the ball around like the defense wasn’t even on the field. In the blink of an eye he had the Packers

in field goal range, and before you knew it, Mason Crosby was kicking the game-winning field goal as time expired. It was gut wrenching to lose like that, especially when it was the Giants’ fourth straight defeat. Things were not looking good. A day when Eli Manning threw for nearly 350 yards, and Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz combined for more than 200 yards had been completely erased. Just another loss now. Just another game to point to in a rapidly floundering season.

The Cowboys were next, and if the Giants were going to have any hope of salvaging this once promising season, this upcoming Sunday Night game was an absolute must win.

Champs Chat

“I am extremely proud. We fought from the first whistle to the very end. Unfortunately we came up a little bit short but it is fine because we will see them again.”

- Giants S Antrel Rolle “In order for us to get to where we are trying to go we have to take it one game at a time, and make sure we take care of business next week.”

- Giants S Deon Grant “You root for our defense and they played great. But Green Bay is good in those situations and Aaron does a great job leading his team down there and getting them in field goal range.”

- Giants QB Eli Manning 38

09.25.2012 12.04.2011

GIANTS PACKERS

29 38

GIANTS GIANTS

16 35

Champs Stats PASSING Eli Manning

C/AT YDS TD 23/40 347 3

INT 1

RUSHING ATT YDS TD Brandon Jacobs 8 59 1 Ahmad Bradshaw 11 38 0

LG 14 8

RECEIVING Victor Cruz Hakeem Nicks Travis Beckum

LG 42 51 67

REC YDS TD 7 119 0 7 88 2 1 67 1

Champs Facts

• The Giants inducted Carl Banks, Mark Bavaro, Alex Webster, Dave Jennings and the late Brad Van Pelt into their Ring of Honor at halftime.

• The Giants lost their fourth consecutive game and fell to 6-6.

• The Giants are 26-29 in games following a Monday Night game.

• Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers had a 106.2 passer rating, extending his NFL record to 12 straight games of 100 or better.

• Rodgers has thrown at least two touchdowns in every game this season.

• The Packers Mason Crosby kicked the gamewinning 31-yard field goal as time expired.

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Game 13: Giants at Cowboys

Observers of sports throw around the term “mustwin” pretty loosely. But this game was one case where it absolutely applied. The Giants had no choice but to win this Sunday Night Football matchup on the road.

Lose a fifth straight game, and the season was effectively over for the Giants.

And when they went down by 12 with 5:41 to play in the fourth quarter, it appeared all hope had been lost. The Giants looked stunned after Dez Bryant hauled in a 50-yard touchdown to stretch the lead. But Eli had already led New York to five fourth-quarter victories on the year, and he was about to orchestrate yet another. Throwing for over 400 yards on the night, Eli led an 80-yard drive that ended with an 8-yard scoring strike to Jake Ballard to cut the lead to 34-29 with 3:14 to play.

Rather than run the ball and chew more time, Dallas decided to throw on third down. Miles Austin was wide open up the right sideline for what would’ve been a game-ending first down, if not a touchdown, but Romo slightly overthrew him. And when the Giants got the ball back, Eli calmly marched them in for the go-ahead touchdown – a Brandon Jacobs oneyard plunge. D.J. Ware ran in the two-point conversion and just like that, the Giants were up 37-34 with under a minute to go. Romo did get the Cowboys in position for a potential game-tying field goal, but Tom Coughlin called timeout just before Dan Bailey hit from 48 yards out. On the re-kick, Jason PierrePaul blew through the line and blocked the kick, and all of New York breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Looking back, this would be the win that started everything.

Champs Chat “We needed to have a locker room celebration. We were starving for this.”

- Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin “This one’s going to hurt, it’s going to sting, but we’ve got to figure out how to do things a little better and play our best game of the season next week.”

- Dallas QB Tony Romo “At this point, absolutely not. He won us a Super Bowl with more pressure than this. I’m not amazed, I’m just thankful to have him.”

- Giants G Chris Snee (when asked if Eli still amazes him) 40

09.25.2012 12.11.2011

GIANTS GIANTS

29

37

GIANTS COWBOYS

16 34

Champs Stats PASSING Eli Manning

C/AT YDS TD 27/47 400 2

INT 1

RUSHING ATT YDS TD Brandon Jacobs 19 101 2 Ahmad Bradshaw 8 12 0

LG 19 8

RECEIVING REC YDS TD Hakeem Nicks 8 163 0 Victor Cruz 6 74 0 Mario Manningham 2 62 1

LG 64 23 47

Champs Facts • New York RB Ahmad Bradshaw did not start as punishment for breaking an unspecified team rule.

• The Giants moved into a first-place tie with Dallas atop the NFC East.

• The game featured eight lead changes, tying the highest total in a Giants game since the 1970 merger.

• This was the third game this season in which the Giants allowed no sacks. The Giants are 3-0 in those games. (Buffalo, Miami) • Despite saying all week the Cowboys Stadium roof would be open, it was closed and the game was played indoors.

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Game 14: Giants vs Redskins

Well, so much for momentum. One the heels of their biggest win of the year, an emotional, last-minute victory over the rival Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, the Giants laid an egg against a Washington team that had only won one of its previous nine games. The win over Dallas put New York in control of its own playoff destiny. Now they were back to needing help. Eli was picked off three times, and the offense couldn’t even crack the end zone until Ahmad Bradshaw scored a completely meaningless touchdown with 33 seconds left in the game.

And that it happened at home only made it worse.

Now came all the talk about Tom Coughlin and how he had to go, how his time in New York had run its course. Is that guy ever not on the hot seat?

It’s baffling how often the media and the fans have

Coughlin booked on the next flight out of town. With the success he’s had in big games? And Eli, too. Despite the three interceptions, time and again he had lifted this Giants team on his shoulders, throwing for 4,362 yards so far in the season - the most in Giants history. Critics called the defense woeful. Said the season was over.

But the guys in the locker room never stopped believing. In themselves and each other.

That’s the thing about Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin and the confidence they inspire in their team. Over the years the Giants had proven to be one of the most mentally tough teams in the league. When the game is big. When they need to win. More times than not, they do. And suffice it to say, the Giants needed to win their last two games.

Champs Chat “We laid an egg today, but I’ve seen us rebound from things like this a lot of times. There’s no quit in our guys. This was kind of an eye-opener.”

- Giants DE Justin Tuck “We looked like the four-win team out there today rather than the Redskins. It’s embarrassing, I’m embarrassed.”

- Giants DE Chris Canty “I accept responsibility for it. But I expected to see more -- quality execution -- and we didn’t get that.”

- Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin 42

09.25.2012 12.18.2011

GIANTS REDSKINS

29 23

GIANTS GIANTS

16 10

Champs Stats PASSING Eli Manning

C/AT YDS TD 23/40 257 0

INT 3

RUSHING ATT YDS TD Ahmad Bradshaw 10 58 1 Brandon Jacobs 8 33 0

LG 17 11

RECEIVING REC YDS TD Hakeem Nicks 5 73 0 Mario Manningham 3 57 0 Victor Cruz 5 44 0

LG 20 34 15

Champs Facts

• Giants DE Jason Pierre-Paul followed his NFC Defensive Player Of The Week award with a 16-tackle performance that included a sack.

• The Giants lost at home to the Redskins for the first time since Dec. 2007.

• The Giants tied their season high with eight penalties for 75 yards.

• Manning’s passer rating of 45.5 was his lowest in a game since Dec. 2008.

• Manning started his 117th consecutive regular season game, breaking a tie with Ron Jaworski and moving into third place among quarterbacks in NFL history.

• Brett Favre is first at 297 consecutive starts, followed by Peyton Manning at 208.

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Game 15: Giants at Jets

If Rex Ryan and his trash-talking gang thought they were becoming the new face of New York football, think again. As the Jets were going on in the media about how they were the better team and the stadium belonged to them, the Giants were going about their business. As usual. Tom Coughlin said, simply, “Talk is cheap. Play the game.”

Enough said.

After the Jets jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead, Eli and the offense went on a 20-0 run that included a 99-yard touchdown to Victory Cruz, who ended the day with 164 yards to set the Giants’ all-time singleseason mark for receiving yards with 1,358.

The entire season has been a fairy tale type season

for Cruz, who came out of small school, and became an All-Pro receiver in a year nobody thought he would even make the team. There was more excitement after the game, as Brandon Jacobs and Rex Ryan had an “exchange” that became national news. It was believed that Ryan, again, was running his mouth, and Jacobs told him, basically, that he picked the wrong Giant to be talking to.

Truth is, you don’t want to start talking to anyone on the Giants. They don’t succumb to stuff like that.

They go out and play football, and when they need to, they win. Back in control of their playoff destiny, the season now came down to a one-game showdown against Dallas for the division title.

Champs Chat “They were the better team today, and they’re the better team this year. Clearly, I was wrong.”

- Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan (on his pre-game “Jets are the kings of New York” comment) “This is a big win because of everything that was on the line - playoffs and we knew we had to win this game to have a shot to keep ourselves in the playoff hunt.”

- Giants QB Eli Manning “We won the game and it keeps us in the playoffs. It keeps us in the hunt with destiny in our hands. That is the only way to look at it.”

- Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin 44

09.25.2012 12.24.2011

GIANTS GIANTS

29

GIANTS JETS

16 14

Champs Stats PASSING Eli Manning

C/AT YDS TD 9/27 225 1

INT 1

RUSHING ATT YDS TD Ahmad Bradshaw 15 54 2 Brandon Jacobs 7 42 0

LG 19 28

RECEIVING Victor Cruz Hakeem Nicks Brandon Jacobs

LG 99 20 13

REC YDS TD 3 164 1 1 20 0 1 13 0

Champs Facts

• The Giants improved to 8-7, and the victory sets up a winner take all matchup with Dallas for the NFC East title.

• The Giants took a 10-7 lead on the longest TD play in the 87-year history of the franchise – a 99-yard pass play from Manning to Cruz.

• Coughlin was limping following the game after suffering an undetermined leg injury when he was hit on the sideline at the end of a 17-yard run by D.J. Ware.

• Jets WR Plaxico Burress took the field against the Giants in the regular season for the first time since he was cut in 2009 and he served a 20-month prison sentence on a gun charge.

• The Manning-Cruz connection for 99 yards was the longest offensive play against the Jets in team history.

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Game 16: Giants vs Cowboys

It all came down to this: Giants against Cowboys, winner packs for the playoffs while the loser packs for vacation. Does it get any better than that?

The game got pushed to Sunday Night Football so it could be seen by the whole country in primetime. It was supposed to be one of the better games of the year. But it wasn’t. The Giants came out fast and knocked the Cowboys in the mouth and then punched them a few more times for fun. The momentum started with, what do you know, a big play by Victor Cruz. The record-breaking receiver took a short pass and turned it into a 74-yard touchdown, bouncing off tacklers and outrunning everyone to put the Giants up

7-0. And with that, the snowball started rolling.

Before you knew it, after two Ahmad Bradshaw rushing touchdowns, the Giants were up 21-0 going into halftime. It felt like you knew this was going to happen, as over the past few years, no mater their record, the Giants just have a knack for showing up in big games. Dallas was able to pull the score to 21-14, but New York never lost control. The lead was extended with a Lawrence Tynes field goal and a Hakeem Nicks 4-yard touchdown, and with that, the Giants had set the stage for yet another dramatic, perhaps unexpected Super Bowl run.

Champs Chat

“NFC East champions. That is a great thing to hear and I won’t get tired of hearing that over and over again.”

- Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin “I knew we were going to fight and keep playing until the end, I feel good about the way we’re handling the ups and downs, and it comes down to finishing.”

- Giants QB Eli Manning “We’ve had a lot of ups and down, but when our team needed it most we responded.”

- Giants WR Victor Cruz 46

09.25.2012 01.01.2012

GIANTS COWBOYS

GIANTS GIANTS

29 14

16 31

Champs Stats PASSING Eli Manning

C/AT 24/33

YDS TD 346 3

INT 0

RUSHING ATT YDS TD Ahmad Bradshaw 16 57 1 D.J. Ware 2 19 0

LG 29 15

RECEIVING Victor Cruz Hakeem Nicks Henry Hynoski

LG 74 36 14

REC YDS TD 6 178 1 5 76 1 4 31 0

Champs Facts • Giants “All In” Rally Towels were given to all fans as they enter MetLife Stadium.

• The Giants’ finished in first place for an NFLrecord 23rd time.

• With their 9-7 record, the Giants have finished .500 or better for seven consecutive seasons, their longest streak a since they did it 10 years in a row from 1954-63.

• This is the first time since the 1970 merger that the NFC East champion has fewer than 10 victories.

• The Giants beat the Cowboys twice in the last four weeks to sweep the season series from Dallas for the second time in three years.

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2011 Regular

48

Sun, Sep 11 @

Washington

L

14 - 28

Mon, Sep 19 vs

St. Louis

W

28 - 16

Sun, Sep 25 @

Philadelphia

W

29 - 16

Sun, Oct 2 @

Arizona

W

31 - 27

Sun, Oct 9 vs

Seattle

L

25 - 36

Sun, Oct 16 vs

Buffalo

W

27 - 24

Sun, Oct 30 vs

Miami

W

20 - 17

Sun, Nov 6 @

New England

W

24 - 20

09.25.2012

Season Results 16 29 GIANTS

GIANTS

Sun, Nov 13 @

San Francisco

L

20 - 27

Sun, Nov 20 vs

Philadelphia

L

10 - 17

Mon, Nov 28 @

New Orleans

L

24 - 49

Sun, Dec 4 vs

Green Bay

L

35 - 38

Sun, Dec 11 @

Dallas

W

37 - 34

Sun, Dec 18 vs

Washington

L

10 - 23

Sat, Dec 24 @

NY Jets

W

29 - 14

Sun, Jan 1 vs

Dallas

W

31 - 14

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Wild Card

Round

50

2012 NFC Playoffs Giants Over the Falcons 51

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Giants vs Falcons

One thing you can be absolutely certain about with this New York Giants team, as the money games arrived and the “tournament” as Bill Coughlin would call it began. The G-Men would not be afraid, or intimidated by anything. No team. No moment. No venue. As dominant as the Giants had been on the road in postseason playoff games during the Eli era, a lot of people were curious as to how the Giants would perform at home against the Falcons. Well, it was like watching men against boys. The Varsity against the JV. The winning formula for games in January are defense and a running game, and this was the perfect day for the Giants to dust off both.

Controlling the clock with gashing, chain-moving runs all day, the Giants ground out 172 yards while the

defense put on an absolute clinic, essentially shutting out the Falcons in the 24-2 win. Atlanta’s coaching staff helped inspire the Giants throughout the day too, as they gambled on multiple 4th down plays and got stuffed on every one. It was the perfect tune-up game for the Giants to play. At home, in front of a rabid crowd. Controlling every aspect of the contest and walking off the field with no significant injuries. Eli played the position of quarterback as efficiently and effectively as you could, passing for 272 yards and 3 TD’s. Next up was a trip where the road to the Super Bowl would have to go through. Green Bay. And if history were any indication, this fearless group of Giants would feel right at home on the frozen tundra.

Champs Chat “I think today we played outstanding defense and that set the tone for everything else that happened in the game. It was wonderful to see it and it has happened over the last two or three weeks of the season. If we can continue to play defense like that, we can make ourselves heard in this tournament.”

- Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin “Our defense played outstanding. A good job stopping the run and some fourth and third down stops. Those were huge.”

- Giants Quarterback Eli Manning 52

01.08.2012

FALCONS

2

GIANTS

24

Champs Stats PASSING Eli Manning

C/AT YDS TD INT 23/32 277 3 0

RUSHING ATT YDS TD Brandon Jacobs 14 92 0 Ahmad Bradshaw 14 63 0

LG 34 30

RECEIVING REC YDS TD Hakeem Nicks 6 115 2 Mario Manningham 4 68 1 Victor Cruz 2 28 0

LG 72 27 22

Champs Facts

• The Giants made their NFL record 31st postseason appearance.

• The victory improves the Giants playoff record to 21-24.

• Atlanta’s two points were the fewest allowed by the Giants in a postseason game since a 41-0 victory over the Vikings in 2000 NFC Championship Game.

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Champs Chat

“It felt good to go out there and get the victory. The defense played great, the offense played great, so it is just a good feeling.”

- Giants Wide Receiver Hakeem Nicks “Probably our best effort so far this year. I think the last three weeks - do or die games for us - we really came out and put things together, but it still feels like we can play better and we probably will have to next week going up to Green Bay.” - Giants Defensive End Justin Tuck “Basically we all came together. We knew it was a playoff game and we knew that if we lose, we’re out. So we had to give all our effort and that’s what we did.”

- Giants Defensive End Jason Pierre-Paul 54

Champs Facts • Neither team had a turnover in the game.

• Tom Coughlin improved to 9-7 in the postseason, including 5-3 with the Giants.

• Tom Coughlin’s five postseason victories are second in Giants’ history to Bill Parcells’ eight.

• Eli Manning has thrown 11 career postseason touchdown passes, a Giants record. Phil Simms owned the previous mark of 10.

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NFC Divisional Playoffs

56

2012 NFC Playoffs Giants Over the Packers 57

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Giants at Packers

In order to be the best, you have to beat the best, and that opportunity was what the Giants had in front of them on this Mid-January day in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The last time the Giants won the Super Bowl, they had to beat the Packers on the road, and the same formula would be needed again. Four years ago it took overtime, this time it took just a few drives in the first quarter before you knew how this game was going to turn out. It almost looked as if the Giants had flipped a switch. After being so up and down during the regular season, they now looked, and played, and carried themselves like a championship team straight out of central casting. They resembled a team that would come out of a laboratory, created for one sole purpose: to win a Super Bowl.

Eli came up with big play after big play against

an over-matched Packers defense. When he reared back and heaved a 37-yard Hail Mary prayer into the end zone that Hakeem Nicks came down with at the end of the 2nd quarter, it was very clear this was going to be the Giants day. The Packers fans decked out in their orange and camouflage garb sat on their hands and sulked most of the second half, while the Giants kept their foot on the gas. Aaron Rodgers had a nightmare day having to ward off Giants defenders who were constantly in his face, and Eli schooled him when it came to QB rating, poise, and big play ability. This game opened the eyes of America that the Giants were on a mission. Winning so dominantly on enemy turf made it clear that this team was built for the playoffs, and they had their eyes on the prize.

And they were now just one win away from having a chance to get it.

Champs Chat “I was the jump man. I got down there and I didn’t even see who was around me. All I saw was the ball and once I saw the ball, I had to jump and get it. I don’t even know where I landed in the end zone. Once I went up and got it, I looked around and it was exciting.”

- Giants Wide Receiver Hakeem Nicks (on his Hail Mary 2nd quarter catch) “I think we’re a dangerous team. I like where we are and how we’re playing.”

- Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin “This team knows how to win on the road. It seems like right now it’s our time.”

- Giants DE Justin Tuck 58

01.15.2012

GIANTS

37

PACKERS

20

Champs Stats PASSING Eli Manning

C/AT YDS TD INT 21/33 330 3 1

RUSHING ATT YDS TD Ahmad Bradshaw 12 63 0 Brandon Jacobs 9 22 1

LG 24 14

RECEIVING REC YDS TD Hakeem Nicks 7 165 2 Victor Cruz 5 74 0 Mario Manningham 3 31 1

LG 66 18 19

Champs Facts • The Giants won a playoff game at Lambeau Field for the second time in four seasons to become the first visiting team to win two postseason games at Green Bay. • This was the third time the Giants eliminated the defending Super Bowl champion from the playoffs.

• No defending Super Bowl champion has won a playoff game since 2005.

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Champs Chat

“

“You practice the Hail Mary. Everyone knew what to do. I think it’s one of the few I’ve actually thrown up and it’s the first one definitely that’s ever been caught. Great job by Hakeem.”

- Giants QB Eli Manning “We play to win championships. You win a championship and you’re kind of at the top of the mountain, and you forget kind of how bad this feeling is. We had a Championship-caliber regular season and didn’t play well today.”

- Packers QB Aaron Rodgers “With a 10-point lead, we’re going to get after you, and that’s what we did.”

- Giants DE Osi Umenyiora

“It was a big, big, big play in the game. It gave us all the momentum going into halftime and a 10-point lead.”

- Giants QB Eli Manning 60

Champs Facts

• The Giants are 5-4 in Lambeau Field, 3-3 in the regular season and 2-1 in the postseason.

• The Giants’ defense held the Packers to 20 points, which was 20 points below their regular season average in Lambeau.

• The Giants are 4-1 in road playoff games under Tom Coughlin.

• Tom Coughlin is 0-3 against Green Bay’s Mike McCarthy in the regular season and 2-0 in the playoffs.

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NFC

Championship

62

2012 NFC Playoffs Giants Over the Niners 63

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Giants at 49ers

Well, not that they needed to prove it again, but after the Giants rolled into San Francisco and broke the hearts of millions of 49ers fans by taking the NFC Championship trophy home with them, it was very obvious the Giants weren’t afraid of the following: Road games. Bad weather. Hostile Crowds. Overtime. Pressure. In the latest testimony to the heart of a championship team, the Giants made every big play down the stretch, getting contributions from everyone on the roster, and two key contributions from a member of the Niners, to earn a berth in their fifth Super Bowl with a 20-17 overtime win.

A steady rain made playing conditions tough, but toughness defines Tom Coughlin’s club. He sets the tone, and the Giants just go and get it done. Together.

Eli Manning took a three-hour beating from a relentless Niners pass rush but he never flinched, fin-

64

ishing with 316 yards passing, two touchdowns, and most importantly, no interceptions. Lawrence Tynes proved yet again that he’s one of the most clutch kickers of all time, as he blasted the game-winning 31-yard field goal through the uprights in overtime. Of course, this game will always be remembered for the opportunistic special teams of the Giants, who forced two late fumbles by Kyle Williams. There have been six playoff rematches from the regular season in the 2011 playoffs, and the only team that has won in postseason after losing during the regular season is the Giants.

They did it twice, against the Packers and 49ers. To win the Super Bowl they will have to prevent the Patriots from being the other team to avenge a regular season loss. And as the Giants walked off the soggy Candlestick Park field, you would be hard pressed to find anyone that had any doubt they were looking at a team that will be crowned Super Bowl champs in two weeks.

01.22.2012

GIANTS

20

49ers

17

Champs Stats PASSING Eli Manning

C/AT YDS TD INT 32/58 316 2 0

RUSHING ATT YDS TD Ahmad Bradshaw 20 74 0 Brandon Jacobs 5 13 0

LG 9 5

RECEIVING REC YDS TD Victor Cruz 10 142 0 Hakeem Nicks 5 55 0 Ahmad Bradshaw 6 52 0

LG 36 15 30

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Champs Chat “I can just say that that was a tremendous football game for those that really enjoy football in its very basic element. We had the rain. We had the wind. We had all of those ingredients thrown in. It was very, very difficult for either team to muster any kind of consistency offensively.”

- Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin “It feels great, it was tough game. We had to fight for every yard that we got. I’m just excited about this win, just excited about having another chance to go to the Super Bowl and play New England.”

- Giants Quarterback Eli Manning 66

Champs Facts • The Giants improved to 5-0 in NFC Championship games.

• The Giants are 3-0 on the road in the NFC Championship Game, winning twice in San Francisco and once in Green Bay. • The Giants will be the 10th franchise to play in at least five Super Bowls, joining San Francisco, Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Dallas, the Raiders, Washington, New England, Miami and Denver.

• The Giants won their fifth consecutive road playoff game.

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Champs Chat

“I had vision in my mind that I was going to make some type of big play to help us win the game. I thought it was just going to be that first fumble but I got another opportunity to recover another one and I jumped on that. LT (Lawrence Tynes) was able to put us into the Super Bowl with the field goal.”

- Giants Wide Receiver Devin Thomas “I always tell everybody once we get on the football field; it has to be eleven guys playing as one.

Tonight it was thirty-three guys playing as one, the offense, defense and the special teams.”

- Giants Defensive End Justin Tuck “I had all the confidence in the world in him. I have seen this before. Four years ago, I’d seen this exact same thing before. I knew that he was going to make it.”

- Giants Defensive End Osi Umenyiora (On Kicker Lawrence Tynes) 68

Champs Facts • This was the 47th postseason game in the history of the Giants franchise.

• This was the eighth playoff game between the Giants and 49ers, tying an NFL record.

• Eli Manning, the first overall selection of the 2004 NFL Draft, and Alex Smith, the first choice of the 2005 draft, were the starting quarterbacks. It was the second time since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger that both starting quarterbacks in a conference championship game were number one overall picks in an NFL draft.

• It was the third-most watched conference championship game in 30 years with 57.6 million viewers.

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He’s The Manning!

27,579 Passing Yards 185 TD Passes 2 Super Bowl Titles 70

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Champs Chat

“Eli’s not big on sports history or statistics.

He truly just likes to play and doesn’t worry about all the other stuff.”

- Archie Manning

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Football is in Eli Manning’s blood. Literally. If America had a First Family of Football, it would no doubt be the Manning’s, and that fact alone has certainly been a blessing and a curse for the youngest member of the bunch. When Eli arrived on the big stage in the Big Apple, he was raw and young and a far cry from the future Hall of Famer he’s become.

But never in the history of the NFL has a quarterback shown the rapid type of improvement into what Eli has become now, the best big game QB to ever step into a huddle.

It’s hard to find unchartered territory when you consider how accomplished Eli’s brother Peyton is, but big brother could only marvel at the toughness Eli shows when he’s in the pocket, in enemy terri-

tory, and in trouble on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter of games. Being unflappable is as important of a characteristic as arm strength when it comes to being a great QB, and if anything has fazed the Giants signal caller in the biggest of games over the years, he either refuses or doesn’t know how to show it.

Eli Manning started the 2011 calling himself an elite NFL quarterback and having to defend that statement to the un-informed and ignorant. He then spent the next six months letting his arms, legs, brain and heart do the talking, and when the season ended, he had earned the status of being something even better than a future Hall of Famer and the best Giants quarterback ever. You could make the argument he’s also the best in his family.

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Champs Chat

“I’m not worried about my legacy. I’m worried about winning a championship for the New York Giants, for my teammates and my coaches.”

(Eli on what a second Super Bowl win will mean for his legacy) “He’s going to be a great quarterback for a long time in this league.”

- Pro Bowler Michael Strahan “The standards for him are very high. The city asks a lot of him. That’s the nature of the New York audience.”

- Giants OC Kevin Gilbride

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“He leads by example. When he speaks, they listen.”

- Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin

Champs Stats

2011 Season 2011 Playoffs

GIANTS

29

CMP ATT YDS CMP% TD LNG INT RTG 359 589 4,933 61.0 29 99 16 92.9 76 123 923 61.8 8 72 1 103.1

Champs Facts •Elisha Nelson Manning was born on January 3, 1981, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

• Eli was drafted as the first overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers, and immediately traded to the New York Giants.

• Manning won the Most Valuable Player award in Super Bowl XLII on February 3, 2008 after leading the Giants to a victory over the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

• In addition to the four letters Eli earned in football during his high school career, he also picked up four in basketball and two in baseball.

• Eli set a record with 18 straight completions and five touchdowns in his first start at Ole Miss.

• Eli won the Maxwell Award and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award just like brother Peyton.

• When the Indianapolis Colts and Giants played in 2006, it marked the first time brothers started against each other at quarterback in an NFL game.

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Champs Chat “He has really taken control of the game, control of himself, control of the offense.”

- Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin

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“He makes decisive decisions, he makes them quick and he gets rid of the ball. You love to see that in a young quarterback.”

- Hall of Famer Dan Marino “I’ve never coached a player who has so much fun just being out there playing the game. It was work for Peyton, and he worked hard at it. With Eli, he’s just having fun out there.”

- Former Ole Miss Head Coach David Cutcliffe “Eli can recognize defenses and knows where the weaknesses are. He has studied football. He studies the opposition. He studies the defense. I just like to see him go out there and pick it to death. I think Eli probably knows more football than either his father or Peyton did at this time of their careers.”

- Former Ole Miss Head Coach Johnny Vaught “He’s unflappable and it’s not phony. I’m sure it’s his whole upbringing. Nothing bothers this kid.”

- Former Giants GM Ernie Acorsi “He gave me a killer wedgie once. Got me up against a wall on a golf trip. He had all the leverage.”

- Peyton Manning “Eli has what I call ‘fast-twitch’ mental fibers. He has great football-thinking ability. He has instant recall and is able to use it. In that three to five seconds of play, he can have 45 seconds worth of thoughts go through his head.”

- Former Ole Miss Head Coach David Cutcliffe 74

GIANTS

29

Champs Facts • In a 2009 game against the Oakland Raiders, Eli posted his first-ever perfect QB Rating.

• Eli threw his 100th career TD pass in a 2009 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

• Eli’s teammates call him “Easy.”

• The Manning family is the first to produce three first-round draft picks (Archie: 2nd pick in 1972, Peyton: 1st pick in 1998, and Eli: 1st pick in 2004). Eli and Peyton are the only brothers to be selected first overall.

• In college, Eli lived in the same apartment that his older brother, Cooper, used to live in.

• Eli co-authored a children’s book entitled Family Huddle.

• After Hurricane Katrina, Eli and Peyton helped deliver bottled water, diapers and baby formula to the people of New Orleans.

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Super Bowl

XLVI 76

Lucas Oil Stadium Indianapolis, IN Giants over Patriots 77

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Giants vs Patriots

Sometimes you truly have to wonder if the New York Giants game plans are scripted by Tom Coughlin and his staff, and executed by Eli Manning and the players, or by Hollywood screenwriters and actors.

In stunning, but not shocking fashion, the Giants showed the world once again, emphatically, that when it comes to the most clutch teams in NFL history, they are truly at the very top of the list. For the second time in four years the Giants beat the Patriots in thrilling fashion, this time 21-17 in a game that went down to the absolute final tick of the clock in Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis. It was billed as a legacy-defin-

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ing game, and in so many ways it was. By winning his second Super Bowl, and at 65 being the oldest Super Bowl winning coach, there can be no denying that Tom Coughlin will someday end up in the Hall of Fame. It’s truly unfathomable as you watched the celebration inside Lucas Oil Stadium, that there were actually calls for Coughlin’s job earlier in the season.

And inside the stadium his big brother Peyton was responsible for building, Eli won his second Super Bowl, his second MVP award, and proved that he is second to none when it comes to elite quarterbacks in the game.

Eli’s mastery is his ability to inspire a team and

02.05.2012

GIANTS

PATRIOTS

21

17

Champs Stats PASSING E. Manning RUSHING A. Bradshaw B. Jacobs

C/ATT 30/40 CAR 17 9

YDS AVG TD INT RTG 296 7.4 1 0 103.8 YDS AVG TD 72 4.2 1 37 4.1 0

RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD H. Nicks 10 109 10.9 0 M. Manningham 5 73 14.6 0 B. Pascoe 4 33 8.3 0 V. Cruz 4 25 6.3 1 DEFENSIVE TACKLES M. Boley D. Grant K. Phillips C. Blackburn J. Tuck

LG 24 11 LG 19 38 12 8

TOT SOLO SACKS 10 9 0 6 5 0 6 5 0 6 4 0 3 3 2 79

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lead a comeback, and there could not be a single person who saw the game be one bit surprised he did it again. He started the game on fire, setting a Super Bowl record by completing his first nine throws, and on the final drive he was a surgeon. The connection with Mario Manningham will go down in Giants lore as one of the most iconic plays ever, and whenever a magic, Midas Touch was needed, all season long, Eli provided it.

Discipline. Sacrifice. Heart. Resilience. Those are the cornerstones of the New York Giants and the secret to their success, but the final component is one that can never be overstated; talent. They are loaded with it on both sides of the ball. The Big Blue defense has officially patented the way to beat Tom Brady.

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Twice in four years they made the ultimate stops with the Super Bowl on the line.

As the confetti fell to the ground, and tears of victory were stamped on the faces of the Super Bowl Champs, fans could not help themselves to consider this. Eli Manning is barely 30-years old, and already guaranteed to someday have a bust in Canton, Ohio. He’s not going anywhere. Tom Coughlin didn’t look like a coach ready to ride off into the sunset. There was little doubt that what the world saw was a true NFL dynasty in action, collecting another championship. And even if writers in Hollywood had gotten their hands on the script that unfurled in Indy in Super Bowl XLVI, they couldn’t have crafted a better, more thrilling sequel.

Champs Facts • The Giants have won four Super Bowls, and in each win they trailed the game at the half.

• Fifteen Giants and seven Patriots who played in Super Bowl XLII were still with their respective teams for this game.

• In their three postseason victories, the Giants defeated 10-6 Atlanta, 15-1 Green Bay and 13-3 San Francisco to join the 2008 Cardinals as the only teams to beat three teams in the playoffs with better regular season records to reach the Super Bowl.

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Champs Chat

“What I was concerned with was these guys making their own history, this is such a wonderful thing, these guys carving their own history.”

- Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin “I was yelling to him, don’t score, don’t score, he tried to stop, but he fell into the end zone.”

- Giants Quarterback Eli Manning (On Ahmad Bradshaw’s go ahead touchdown) 82

Champs Facts • The Giants are 6-0 in postseason games in which Eli Manning does not throw an interception.

• Prior to the Super Bowl, neither team had won in Lucas Oil Stadium, the site of Super Bowl XLVI. • This was the Giants’ fifth Super Bowl. They are the 10th franchise to play in at least five Super Bowls.

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Champs Chat

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“It just feels great. It was a great game with two great teams. We played to the very end. It was just a great effort on both sides. There were some big plays being made.”

- Giants Quarterback Eli Manning “Eli Manning is the best quarterback in the Manning household.”

- ESPN’s Chris Carter

“Certainly Eli has had a great season. He made some great throws in the fourth quarter, and they deserved to win.”

- Patriots QB Tom Brady “With this performance Eli’s a lock for the Hall of Fame.”

- ESPN’s Trent Dilfer

“I’m just happy for the guys. I’m happy for everyone in this organization, Coach Coughlin, all of my coaches, all of the players getting a chance to win the Super Bowl. Some of these guys are getting their first one. I feel great for them. I feel great for everybody.

- Giants Quarterback Eli Manning “His performance, coming down the stretch, was outstanding. He is the guy who has done it for us all year. He is the guy who put us in position.”

- Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin (On Eli Manning) 84

Champs Facts

• With the Giants victory, Eli Manning became the 11th quarterback to win at least two Super Bowls.

• Manning began Super Bowl XLVI by completing his first nine passes for 76 yards, a Super Bowl record.

• Eli Manning is the first New York Giants player to win the Rozelle Trophy multiple times, having also been voted the MVP of Super Bowl XLII. • Eli Manning is the fifth player in NFL history to win multiple Super Bowl MVP honors.

• The comeback victory marked Eli Manning’s eighth game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime this season, the most in the NFL and two more than Tim Tebow and Alex Smith.

• Eli’s five career game-winning drives in the fourth quarter and overtime of postseason games are tied with Joe Montana for third-most alltime, behind Tom Brady (7) and John Elway (6).

• Manning led the Giants into New England territory on every possession, except the kneeldown at the end of the first half.

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Champs Chat

“It’s been a wild game, a wild season, this isn’t about one person. It’s about one team, a team coming together.”

- Giants Quarterback Eli Manning “I want to give the Giants a lot of credit, it’s a very good football team and they put a lot of pressure on us. We just came up a little bit short.”

- Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady 86

Champs Facts • This was the 13th Super Bowl that was a rematch of a regular season game.

• The Giants have won each of their last seven postseason games away from their home field – including Super Bowl XLII – an NFL record.

• The Giants are the third team since the introduction of the 16-game schedule in 1978 to reach the Super Bowl after finishing the season with a 9-7 record.

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Champs Chat

“It’s the greatest thing in the world, man…. I’m just hoping we can win another one. It’s the greatest feeling in my life.”

- Giants Running Back Ahmad Bradshaw “The greatest feeling in professional sports is to win the Super Bowl” - Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin 88

Champs Facts • The Giants scored 394 points and allowed 400 this season to become the first team in history with a negative point differential in the regular season to go to the Super Bowl.

• The Giants became the first franchise to win Super Bowls in four different decades and they accomplished the feat in four consecutive decades.

• There have been six safeties in Super Bowl history and the Giants were involved in three of them.

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Champs Chat “Unbelievable. I mean, you look at this season and the way that we fought and stuck together. We accomplished something that nobody on the outside looking in thought we could do. But the people in our room, the players on this team, our coaches, our organization - nobody said this could be done except for us and we believed in one another. Let everybody say what they want to say. The Giants are World Champs, baby.�

- Giants Guard David Diehl 90

Champs Facts • Steve and Zak DeOssie are one of 13 fatherson tandems to reach the Super Bowl, but the only one to win Super Bowls with the same team. Steve won with the Giants in Super Bowl XXV and Zak won with the Giants four years ago.

• The Giants scored 394 points and allowed 400 this season to become the first team in history with a negative point differential in the regular season to go to the Super Bowl.

• The Giants were 4-4 at home this season. Of the 92 teams to reach the Super Bowl, only four did so with a home record of .500 or worse – and the Giants account for two of the four. In 2007, they were 3-5 at home and were the first – and still only – team to advance to the Super Bowl with a sub-.500 record at home. The 1979 Los Angeles Rams and the 1988 San Francisco 49ers were both 4-4 at home.

• Tom Coughlin ended a streak by winning his second Super Bowl; each of the last six Super Bowls had been captured by a first-time Super Bowl winning head coach: Bill Cowher, Tony Dungy, Coughlin, Mike Tomlin, Sean Payton and Mike McCarthy.

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Champs Chat “First of all, congratulations (New York) Giants. Won a championship, they’re a good football team and they’re well coached. They obviously played well tonight. Very competitive football game, they just made a couple more plays then we did. By the way our guys played, fought, fought all year, fought tonight, and we had our chances. We just couldn’t quite make enough plays. Giants made a few more than we did. Really isn’t too much more to say about. Can’t fault the effort of any of our players. They played as hard as they could, we could have just played a tiny bit better. It was obviously a very competitive football game.”

- Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick 92

Champs Facts • The NFC holds a 26-20 lead over the AFC in Super Bowls.

• Before the Giants lost the coin toss in this Super Bowl, the NFC team had won the coin toss in each of the last 14 Super Bowls. The last AFC team to win the coin toss, before this game, was New England in Super Bowl XXXI. 93

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Super Bowl XLVI Fun Facts • Indianapolis is only the second state capital to host a Super Bowl.

The other was Atlanta.

• Two Disney reps were in Indy securing the signatures of players for the company’s postgame commercial. New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms was the first player to shoot the “I’m going to Disney” spot, taping it immediately after Super Bowl XXI. • Indianapolis locals knitted scarves for volunteers to make them easily identifiable. The Super Scarf, which could not be bought, was blue and white with the Super Bowl logo. All 13,024 scarves were hand-knitted.

• This was the first Super Bowl held in Indianapolis, Indiana.

• The cost of the Vince Lombardi Trophy is $25,000, and the maker is Tiffany & Co. of New York.

• Capital Avenue in downtown Indianapolis was the home of the longest zip line in the United States during Super Bowl week. The Zip line ran through the middle of the Super Bowl Village.

• Roughly 70,000 people watched the game live from Lucas Oil Stadium. In case you were wondering, the seating capacity of Indianapolis Motor Speedway is 257,000.

• Around 8,000 volunteers worked during the Super Bowl week in Indianapolis.

• Portions of the Streets outside Lucas Oil stadium were temporarily renamed Giants Drive and Patriots Path.

• NBC had 475 people and 57 high definition cameras on hand for its production and broadcast of the game.

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Champs Chat “Big Blue gave us a game to remember, and on Tuesday we’re going to give them a parade to remember.”

- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg

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They are the Giants of the NFL, figuratively and literally, and if you are looking for the gold standard when it comes to resilience, talent, and heart, the 2012 Super Bowl Champions stand-alone.

Proving that no lead was too big to overcome, no venue too treacherous to conquer, and no chance they would be denied, the New York Giants showed the world they are a team for the ages.

Led by an absolutely fearless quarterback who proved you can’t spell elite without Eli, a demanding and respected coach who cemented his own Hall of Fame legacy along with his QB, and a cast of ultra-talented and dynamic supporting characters who did not know the meaning of the word quit, the Giants are Super Bowl Champs for the fourth time.

They did it in dramatic fashion. They did it with class. And they did it for themselves and their incomparable fans. Cheers to the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, an unforgettable team that provided memories for a lifetime. Enjoy this look back at their epic run to history.

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