Four years ago, Eli Manning took home his first MVP award after a scoring pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds left allowed New York to upset Brady and New England, ruining the Patriots' bid for a perfect season.
Back then, Manning got a boost from David Tyree's Velcro-helmet grab on the go-ahead drive. This time, the key play was Mario Manningham's 38-yard, over-the-shoulder catch between two defenders along the sideline, which held up after the Patriots challenged it.
"I saw I had the safety cheated in a little bit and threw it down the sideline," said Manning of the play. "Great catch by [Manningham], keeping both feet in. That's a huge play in the game right there; when you're backed up, to get a 40-yard gain and get to the middle of the field. It was a big, big, big-time play right there."
"It was just a catch man; it was just a catch. It wasn't like this [behind the back] or like this [over the shoulder] ... it was just a catch," stated Manningham. "We work on that all the time. Just a sideline catch and fade. After I caught that ball, I kind of figured, we bout to win this... we bout to win this."
Even though Manningham claimed it was "just a catch," that catch has been lauded by the media as one of the best in Super Bowl history. In fact, color analyst Chris Collinsworth said during the game, "It's a catch we'll still be talking about in 50 years."
Manning and Manningham hooked up for a 16-yard gain two plays later, and Manning hit Hakeem Nicks with a 14-yard bullet shortly after to put New York on the New England 18-yard line at the two-minute warning. A short pass to Nicks gave the Giants a 1st-and-goal at the seven with just over a minute to go, and after Bradshaw was stopped for a yard and the Patriots called time out, the determined running back made his way into the end zone with New England appearing to surrender a touchdown in order to give Brady additional time.
The additional time didn't help as the Patriots' Hail-Mary pass dropped incomplete in the end zone with no time left on the clock. New York wins the Super Bowl, 21-17.
Manning took home the MVP honors for the game, while Mario Manningham finished with 5 grabs for 73 yards, a Super Bowl Championship, and one of the best catches in Super Bowl history.
The Associated Press and Sports Network contributed to this article.
