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Defense wins championships. I could probably just end the article right there, but one shouldn't just drop a cliche and walk away from the article. The New York Giants victory is a bit more complex than the phrase, but overall the key factor in the game was the resilience of the Giants defense. Here are a few factors that contributed to the outcome of Super Bowl XLII.

PRESSURE

As noted above, the New York Giants defense made the difference in the game. It really doesn't matter how good the quarterback is, they need at least some time to throw the ball. Tom Brady has had ample time all year long, which allowed receivers to run their routes and for Brady to get his feet set and make plays. The Giants put pressure on Brady all night long, and got to him a number of times. Also, the Giants did not do all-out blitzes that prevented the Patriots from running a lot of draw plays.

CLUTCH

Winning "big" games requires making "big" plays. The play that will go down in history is the catch made by David Tyree in the fourth quarter. With time running out, Eli Manning drops back to pass and is immediately in trouble. It seems destined for him to be sacked but somehow he spins away from the defender and launches a ball down field to his receiver. Tyree leaps and catches the ball in traffic by pinning the ball against his own helmet as he falls. The seemingly miraculous catch gives the Giants the ball within striking distance of the end zone, which they soon find with a touchdown pass to star receiver Plaxico Burress.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

Certainly the Giants weren't perfect in the Super Bowl as they did turn the ball over and they gave up some plays to the Patriots. However, they went in with a plan and they were able to disrupt the scheme of the Patriots. With the game on the line, they made the plays that had to make, which resulted in victory. You can give the Giants a lot of credit, but it is easy to see how things could have gone the Patriots way as well. If Tyree does not come down with that ball, the Patriots may have escaped with a victory. So goes the game of football.

Learn more about this author, Todd Pheifer.
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