New York Giants, 20, San Francisco 49ers, 17
In a masterpiece of hard-hitting defense and talented, opportunistic offense it should not be surprising that turnovers on special teams would be a deciding factor. Rookie WR Kyle Williams had a punt glance off his knee in the 4th quarter and fumbled the clincher in OT after the 49ers D had stopped clutch QB Eli Manning a second time in OT, forcing said fumbled punt.
Big 100 yard recieving performances from Giants WR Victor Cruz and 49ers TE Vernon Davis (with both 49er touchdowns) and sweat-and-tears workhorse efforts from Giants RB Ahmad Bradshaw and 49ers RB Frank Gore tell the story of a game truly fought against two very strong and fast defenses.
Soggy San Francisco may have played host to one of the most gritty Championship Games of all time. Huge stops by the 49ers LB Patrick Willis, CB Carlos Rodgers, and DT Ray McDonald with a part of 3 big sacks, were met, blow-by-blow by DE Justin Tuck's 2 sacks, DE Jason Piere-Paul, LB Chase Blackburn and the big play Giants D. It was not obvious during the regular season that the Giants D would be able to compete in a slugfest like this, but they have solidified at the right time. In the end, it was a game lost on two fumbles.
KEY PLAY: With both teams playing so well, there are no doubts the two deciding plays in this game were the two fumbles by WR Kyle Williams. It is a tough burden for a rookie, truly a matter of inches.
MVP: On this day, Eli Manning deserves more credit for putting up 300 yards against this defense on this day than he will get. While the 3rd downs were a roller-coaster, 5-for 7 to start the game, then 7 straight failed conversions, Eli made the plays when they needed to be made against a defense that over-matched opponents all year.
New England Patriots, 23, Baltimore Ravens, 20
QB Tom Brady announced he "sucked pretty bad today" as he waltzed into the Super Bowl for a 5th time but it was the Ravens who will hold the poor recollections of this day. Surefire Hall-of-Famers LB Ray Lewis and Brady jawed with each other early, and both teams were able to stop the big weapons, Ravens RB Ray Rice was limited to 67 yards and Brady had barely over 200 yards, 0 TDs and 2 INTs.
In the 4th quarter, Tom Brady's 4th down crushed acrobat TD was pure heart and soul to put the Pats up 23-20, but his 2nd interception, a deep and overconfidant bomb directly following LB Brandon Spikes' momentum-solidifying interception gave the Ravens a window.
In the final minute of the 4th quarter, both teams alternated attempts to give the game away. The Patriots' D turned to jelly and let WR Anquan Boldin slice them for 9 yards, 29 yards, and 9 yards on consecutive plays, Boldin fumbled the final play out of bounds, a bounce that was ridiculously fortunate (and would prove to be the end of the Ravens' fortune). Patriots CB Sterling Moore than made two consecutive pass defenses, the first of which appeared a certain game-winning touchdown to WR Lee Evans, the second of which was apparently QB Joe Flacco's attempt to lose the game through an unneccessarily forced 3rd down conversion in field goal range.
Maybe Joe's reckless urgency was foreboding premonition because K Billy Cundiff missed the chip shot field goal. That sent Tom Brady and Bill Bellicheck to The Super Bowl for the 5th time. The sideline shots of S Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, Ray Rice, WR Torrey Smith were of complete shock and horror, good television but a truly sickening ending for the Baltimore Ravens.
KEY PLAY: WR Lee Evans had the game-winning TD in his hands for almost a full second before CB Sterling Moore was able to whack it away and leave Baltimore's Super Bowl hopes a mere alternate reality inside of that one second.
MVP: DT Vince Wilfork was a force inside the entire game. His performance; three tackles for loss and a sack looked decent on paper but his clutch domination of the 3rd and 4th down in Patriots' territory that resulted in a turnover late in the 4th quarter was game-changing.
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