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Super Bowl champs

February 6, 2012

The New England Patriots' hopes of taking revenge on the New York Giants for beating them four years ago in the Super Bowl were dashed when Eli Manning mounted a last-minute comeback in Indianapolis.

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New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy
Manning won his second Super Bowl MVP in as many appearancesImage: AP

Four years ago, the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII 17-14. At Sunday's Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, the Patriots were hoping for revenge over the Giants in America's biggest sporting event of the year, but they fell short once again, losing 21-17 after the Giants' Eli Manning completed an 88-yard drive in the final minute of the game to set up the winning touchdown.

Manning was awarded the game's Most Valuable Player award, the second of his career. He also won in 2008 against the Patriots in a game that came down to the final seconds.

"It's been a wild season. We had a great, tough bunch of guys who never quit and had faith in each other. I'm proud of these guys sticking together," said Manning after the game.

It was the second time in Patriot quarterback Tom Brady's career that he had to watch Manning and the Giants hoist the Vince Lombardi trophy, although Brady has earned two MVPs and three Super Bowl titles in his career.

Came up short

A small mistake by Brady at the very beginning of the game may have proved decisive given the game's close final score. On the Patriots' very first possession, deep in their own territory, Brady dropped back for a pass into his own end zone and ended up putting up a pass into no-man's land.

He was whistled for intentional grounding, and since the infraction took place in the end zone, the Giants were awarded two points. Had Brady's team been two points closer in the final minute of the game, they could have attempted a field goal rather than being forced to try for a touchdown to win the game.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, foreground, and his German teammate Sebastian Vollmer
Brady, foreground, and Vollmer came up short again against the GiantsImage: AP

"We just came up a little bit short," Brady said afterward. "There were some missed opportunities out there. It was a very hard-fought game. We fought 'til the end. I'm very proud of that."

This year's Super Bowl was the first for German player Sebastian Vollmer, who is an offensive tackle for the Patriots. He was drafted by the Patriots in 2009 and is the only active player from Germany in the NFL.

The Super Bowl is routinely viewed by a television audience of more than 100 million people.

mz/gw (AP, Reuters)