Super Bowl 49: Ranking the most dramatic finishes
By Will Osgood
- Super Bowl XLVI: New York Giants 21, New England Patriots 17
In a rematch of Super Bowl XLII, the Giants and Patriots did not disappoint. They again went down to the final gun, though this time it was a dropped pass by the Pro Bowl slot receiver Wes Welker that seemed to make the largest difference.
That dropped pass, on a throw that was just slightly behind him, marred the Patriots’ revenge attempt. But it was not the point of no return. The Patriots actually had a chance to get their revenge in the most cruel way, having a hail mary opportunity with five seconds on the clock.
Of course the Giants were only in the position to hold off a hail mary because of a wonderful catch made on the sideline by Mario Manningham, which acted as the catalyst to Eli Manning’s second Super Bowl game-winning drive over the Patriots.
Ahmad Bradshaw ended up scoring with 57 seconds to go in the game, though he tried not to, in order to kill more clock. In the end, it is fair to say the Patriots determined that letting the Giants score the touchdown was their best play.
And given that they got the Hail Mary attempt, they may have been correct. The ball was tipped and Rob Gronkowski almost was able to get under the tipped pass to score a dramatic game-ending touchdown.
It was not to be, though, as the Patriots again lost to the Giants in a dramatic Super Bowl.
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