What was the important play of the Super Bowl?
The Giants made so many plays. It is hard to single out the “best”. You can argue that it was the first or second play of the game when Brady was sacked that set the tone. There was a play in the middle of the second quarter in which somebody wacked Wes Welker. I thought he was staggering when he got up. He was clearly shaking his head like the cobwebs wouldn’t leave. There was Amani Toomer’s beautiful catch along the sideline.
I chose 2 plays that I think were critical to the outcome of the game. Both were very late in the game. Eli Manning drops back to pass and is swarmed by the Patriots defense. He escapes by twitching his nose or rubbing a magic rabbit’s foot or something. He then throws a high wounded duck that David Tryee out jumps Rodney Harrison and pins the ball against his helmet then secures it while Harrison is trying to knock it out. This is one of the great plays in Super Bowl history. It will be played over and over.
The second play I chose was on the Patriots final possession since it really wasn’t a drive. It is second and 10. Tom Brady goes back to pass. He needs some time since everyone is running deep routes. The Giant’s rookie, Alford, slides free up the middle and plants Brady for a 10 yard loss. Now, it is 3rd and 20. The sack showed everyone that this wasn’t going to be any Pre-Vent defense. They were still coming after the quarterback. Game over.
