How the Giants got to Super Bowl XLII

The Giants took a tough road to get where they are today, putting themselves in a tough position to make the playoffs and then a harder one having to play the #5, #1, and #2 seeds in order to win the NFC.After their losses in both Week 1 and Week 2, I thought they might not win a game givne their horrific play and the unknown status of then Eli Manning (now Elite Manning). They put up 35 at Dallas, only to give up 45, and then went on to lose the 4th quarter 21-0 to the Packers, who no one knew would end up having the year they did.

With Washington up next, the Giants had to win to keep their season alive and did so with a goal-line stand as the clock ran down at the end of the game. That was the turning point of the Giants seasons and from there on out, I had faith that they would make the playoffs, but the Super Bowl, come on?

In Week 4 (Sac Fest) te Giants beat up on the Eagles and ran Donovan McNabb threw the ground with a NFL record for most sacks in game. After winning convincingly 16-3, people began to talk that maybe the Giants weren’t as bad as their 0-2 start, and quite possibly they would have a shot at making a run at a wild card spot.

With four more games til the bye week, the Giants came back against the Jets, pounded the Falcons on Monday Night Football, blew out the 49ers, adn then beat the Dolphins in Week 8 to finish a six-game winning streak heading into the bye week. At 6-2, the Giants were on the heels of Dallas knocking on the door for the NFC East lead.

With Week 9 off, the Giants came back in Week 10 only to lose to Dallas again after untimely penalties and awful play calling. They followed that up with a win as underdogs on the road against Detroit to improve to 7-3 before their lowest point of the season.

In Week 12, the Giants got absolutely embarrassed at home against Minnesota as the Vikings picked apart the G-Men from the opening play until the final whistle. Eli threw four picks and it seemed like every Giants offensive play resulted in a Minnesota defensive TD. The Vikings won 41-17, and I knew that the Giants had been a tease to that point, screwing with their fans’ mind, playing the way they have been known for. Unsportsman-like and Undisciplined.

Next on the schedule was a game at Chicago, where the Bears themselves were fighting for postseason position and had been playing better football of late. Eli led the charge once again from behind and the G-Men rolled in Chi-Town, giving them an 8-4 record and a great chance at playing postseason football.

The Eagles had been looking to get back on track themselves what better time than to upset the Giants looking to gain ground on the wild card teams. David Akers had kicked the Eagles past the Giants in last year’s playoffs, but he would miss a game-tying kick at the end of Week 13, and the Giants were 9-4.

Riding a six-game road winning streak, the G-Men returned home against Washington on Monday Night Football where a win would clinch a playoff spot, their third in three years. Led by backup QB, Todd Collins, the Redskins defeated the Giants in the most windiest of games. With the loss the Giants had two more cracks at a playoff spot against Buffalo and the undefeated New England while Washington had now inched closer to a playoff spot of their own.

The Giants joined the playoff party in Week 16 in Buffalo where a dominant fourth quarter gave them their tenth win of the season and a 10-5 mark on the season. With one game remaining against the undefeated Patriots every analyst questioned whether or not the Giants should use their regulars against New England or rest the starters for the first round of the playoffs.

The Giants chose to play their starters and gave the Patriots the best showing they had seen all season, losing 38-35 with minutes left in the game. The loss gave the Giants a huge boost of confidence showing the young squad they can play with anyone and they used the momentum to take down Tampa Bay, then Dallas, and finally Green Bay on the way to Super Bowl XLII.

After a long journey that began in Dallas back on September 9th, the Giants find themselves playing for the Lombardi trophy in front of the world against the greatest team the game has ever known. It has been 140 days since that opening night loss at Dallas, when everyone thought the Giants defense was the joke of the league and it has been 19 weeks since Green Bay gave them their second loss in a row and an 0-2 record. Now the Giants have one more game left in the season while Dallas (#1) and Green Bay (#2) watch from home.