Super Bowl XLII

Super Bowl XLII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2007 season. The game was played on February 3, 2008, at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Despite New England being heavily favored heading into the game, the Giants defeated the Patriots by the score of 17–14. The game is regarded as one of the biggest upsets in the history of professional North American sports, as well as one of the greatest Super Bowl games ever.

The Patriots entered the game as 12-point favorites after becoming the first team to complete a perfect regular season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, and the only one since the league expanded to a 16-game regular season schedule in 1978. The Giants, who finished the regular season with a 10–6 record, were seeking to become the first NFC wild card team to win a Super Bowl, and were also looking for their third Super Bowl victory and first since they won Super Bowl XXV seventeen years earlier. This Super Bowl was also a rematch of the final game of the regular season, in which New England won, 38–35.

In the fourth quarter, down 14–10, the Giants started their game-winning drive on their own 17-yard line with 2:39 left. In the drive's most memorable play, David Tyree made the " Helmet Catch" on 3rd down, a leaping one-handed catch pinning the football with his right hand to the crown of his helmet for a 32-yard first down conversion. After a second first-down conversion by Steve Smith on 3rd and 11, wide receiver Plaxico Burress scored the winning touchdown on a 13-yard reception with 35 seconds remaining. The Giants' game winning-drive is often regarded as the greatest in NFL history.

The game was tight throughout, with both teams' defense dominating the competition until near the end of the game. The game featured five lead changes (New York took it three times and New England twice). Only 10 total points were scored in the first three quarters. The Giants consumed a Super Bowl-record 9 minutes and 59 seconds on their opening drive, but could only manage a field goal. The Patriots then responded with running back Laurence Maroney's 1-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter. After a scoreless third quarter, the fourth quarter saw a Super Bowl-record three lead changes. After Tyree's 3-yard touchdown reception at the beginning of the quarter, New England wide receiver Randy Moss made a 6-yard touchdown reception with 2:42 left to play before New York's game-winning drive. Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who completed 19 of 34 passes for 255 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, was named Super Bowl MVP. Giants defensive end Michael Strahan, who retired following the victory, had two tackles and one sack. This game was the first since Super Bowl IX in 1975 (in which the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings 16–6) that neither team scored at least 20 points. This game was also the first Super Bowl game with three fourth-quarter lead changes, and the only one to date.

Super Bowl XLII was ranked fifth on NFL.com's 100 Greatest Games, the highest ranked Super Bowl game, while Tyree's catch was ranked third on NFL.com's 100 Greatest Plays. Many other media outlets rank Super Bowl XLII as the greatest Super Bowl ever. Many sports websites consider it one of the most iconic sports moments of the 2000s.

The telecast of the game on Fox broke the then-record for the most watched Super Bowl in history with an average of 97.5 million viewers in the United States.

Background

Host selection process

As always, the league considered several potential host cities before choosing the Phoenix area. In this case, the process drew special interest because the league considered holding Super Bowl XLII in New York City or Washington, D.C. as a symbol of the recovery from the September 11 attacks. New York City's bid did not go far. Aside from the obvious climatic concerns, it was also difficult to find a suitable stadium. Proposed renovations to the 1970s-vintage Giants Stadium were still being disputed amongst the various parties. Giants Stadium also lacked a roof, as did both of New York City's baseball stadiums, and the NFL had never played an outdoor Super Bowl in a cold weather climate. The city of New York and the New York Jets failed to secure a deal to build a new West Side Stadium (which, according to the initial plans, would have been built with a roof). During the years since the Super Bowl XLII bid fell through, Giants Stadium has been demolished. Its replacement, MetLife Stadium, was awarded Super Bowl XLVIII.

Washington, D.C.'s bid proved to be more viable as the D.C. area had a relatively new (albeit roofless) stadium in FedExField. DC's winter weather, although still potentially problematic, is milder than New York's climate.

In the end, the process boiled down to three finalists: Washington, D.C., Phoenix and Tampa. NFL owners finally chose University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona as the site for Super Bowl XLII during their October 30, 2003, meeting in Chicago. In subsequent years, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa was chosen as the site for Super Bowl XLIII and the proposed (but never built) West Side Stadium was briefly designated as the venue for Super Bowl XLIV. However, this game was later moved to Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, when it became clear that the new stadium in New York City would not be built in time for the February 2010 game.

Venue

The kickoff for the game took place at 4:32 p.m. MST (23:32 UTC). This was the first Super Bowl played on a retractable natural-grass field surface; the University of Phoenix Stadium's removable surface is unique among American sports venues.

Super Bowl XLII was also the second Super Bowl played in a retractable-roof stadium (the first was played at Reliant Stadium in Houston for Super Bowl XXXVIII). During the regular season, the home team decides 90 minutes before kickoff whether the roof will be open or closed, and an open roof must remain open unless weather conditions get worse. However, as a neutral site, the NFL controls the option to open or close without any restrictions. The first time this was employed was in Super Bowl XXXVIII at Reliant Stadium; the roof was open for pregame and halftime shows and closed during the game. Because there was rain in the forecast for Super Bowl XLII, the roof was closed for the entire day's activities.

During a February 6, 2007, ceremony with Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, the NFL and the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee unveiled the slogan "Who Wants It More?" along with its mascot "Spike the Super Ball" (an anthropomorphized football with sunglasses and sneakers) and a large "Super Bowl XLII Countdown Clock" at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The Super Bowl XLII logo was also unveiled. It features the shape of the state of Arizona in red and two horizontal white stripes in the middle to represent the vertical lines on University of Phoenix Stadium. The turquoise Roman numerals represent the Native American culture of Arizona. The red star represents the AFC and the blue star represents the NFC. This was also the last Super Bowl with the league's previous logo painted at midfield; the following season, the league redesigned its primary logo.

Teams

New York Giants

The New York Giants began the season with low expectations after star running back Tiki Barber retired. The Giants had lost in the NFC Wild Card round in each of the previous two seasons and had not won a playoff game in seven years. Quarterback Eli Manning, the younger brother of Super Bowl XLI MVP quarterback Peyton Manning, had struggled to find consistency. In his three seasons as a starter, he had completed less than 54% of his passes with a career passer rating of 73.4. While generally regarded as a solid quarterback, Manning had been unable to achieve the same level of success as fellow 2004 draftees Philip Rivers (for whom he was traded) and Ben Roethlisberger, the latter of whom had already won a Super Bowl (Super Bowl XL). By the 2007 season, many sports writers were starting to question if Eli would ever live up to the expectations that accompanied being selected with the first overall pick in a draft.

The criticism of Manning intensified as the Giants lost the first two games of the regular season. The Giants recovered, though, notching six consecutive wins and finishing the year with a 10–6 record. The Giants were able to secure a wild card bid in the playoffs, despite the loss of running back Derrick Ward, defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, and four-time Pro Bowl tight end Jeremy Shockey to injury. In the final game of the regular season, the Giants played at home against the undefeated New England Patriots. Although the Giants had already earned a playoff spot and had nothing to gain by winning the game, coach Tom Coughlin decided to play his starters throughout the game. New York, clearly playing to win against the league's best team, narrowly lost 38–35. But the effort seemed to rejuvenate the Giants and prepare them for a difficult playoff run. Manning led his team to three road playoff wins in Tampa, Dallas and Green Bay respectively, without throwing a single interception. The Giants' three playoff wins gave them an NFL record 10 consecutive wins on the road. They finished the season with a franchise-low 77 penalties, after setting a franchise record two years before with 146.

Manning finished the 2007 season with 3,336 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions. His primary target, Plaxico Burress, caught 70 passes for 1,050 yards and 12 touchdowns. Amani Toomer, the Giants all-time leading receiver and one of only two players remaining from their last Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl XXXV, was also a reliable target with 59 receptions for 760 yards, while Shockey contributed 57 receptions for 619 yards and 3 touchdowns before suffering a season-ending injury in week 15. The Giants' ground game was led by running back Brandon Jacobs, who at and , was one of the largest starting halfbacks in the NFL. He finished the season with 1,009 yards and an average of five yards per carry, while also catching 23 passes despite starting only nine games. Running back Reuben Droughns rushed for 276 yards and team-leading 6 touchdowns, while also catching 7 passes for 49 yards and returning 21 kickoffs for 437 yards. Rookie running back Ahmad Bradshaw added 38 kickoff returns for 921 yards, while also rushing for 190.

The Giants had a defensive line that was led by defensive ends Osi Umenyiora (the lone Pro Bowl representative on the team, the fewest a Super Bowl team has ever had), Michael Strahan, and Justin Tuck. Umenyiora led the defense with 13 sacks and five forced fumbles. Strahan, another veteran from the Giants' last Super Bowl appearance in 2000, had nine sacks, giving him a career total of 141.5 and breaking the franchise record held by Lawrence Taylor. Tuck recorded ten sacks and 48 solo tackles. In the secondary, cornerback Sam Madison and safety Gibril Wilson led the team with four interceptions each. Cornerback R. W. McQuarters had no interceptions during the season, but played effectively in the playoffs, with interceptions in each of the Giants first three postseason games. Punter Jeff Feagles played in his first Super Bowl after 20 years in the NFL. This was also the last game for Giants athletic trainer John Johnson who had been with the team for 60 years.

The Giants became only the fourth team to win the Super Bowl without playing a single home game in the preceding playoffs. They joined the 1966 Green Bay Packers (who won Super Bowl I against the Kansas City Chiefs), the 1969 Kansas City Chiefs (who won Super Bowl IV against the Minnesota Vikings) and the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers (who won Super Bowl XL against the Seattle Seahawks) in accomplishing this feat. However, Green Bay had to win two games (including the Super Bowl), Kansas City three, and Pittsburgh and the Giants four, in order to accomplish this. Since then, two other teams also won three road playoff games to reach the Super Bowl: the 2010 Green Bay Packers, who won Super Bowl XLV over the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, winners of Super Bowl LV (played in their home stadium with limited attendance because of COVID-19) over the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Giants were the only NFC team to make multiple Super Bowl appearances in the 2000s decade, at the ends of the 2000 and 2007 seasons. Starting with the Rams' appearance in 2001, ten different NFC teams represented the conference from 2001 to 2010: Rams

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