The Most Iconic Game in New York Giants History: Eli’s Army Stuns Brady Bunch in Super Bowl XLII

Tom Brady's years with the New England Patriots resulted in the National Football League's greatest dynasty of modern times. But there was one team - and one quarterback - that the Patriots couldn't beat in the Super Bowl. Eli Manning and the New York Giants scored their first of two Super Bowl triumphs over Brady and the New England Patriots on Feb. 3, 2008, in Super Bowl XLII at the "Big Toaster" in Arizona.

The backdrop of Super Bowl XLII involved a New England season so dominant, it felt inexorable that the Patriots would go on to win the NFL championship again. Brady's team arrived in Glendale with an immaculate 18-0 record, threatening to cap off a perfect championship season that would eclipse the Miami Dolphins' 14-0 campaign of 1972. What's more, the 2007-08 Patriots offense put up electrifying regular-season stats such as the NFL had never seen before, a product of head coach Bill Belichick bringing in the legendary wide receiver Randy Moss.

Brady found Moss for 23 touchdown passes during the season, helping Moss set a single-season TD reception record that still stands. Brady's career high of 50 touchdown tosses also set an NFL record at the time, standing for six years before being surpassed by Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos in 2013. New England's overall record was as shiny as the aerial feats, setting an enduring record with a plus-315 point differential.

Epitomizing the role of underdog in Super Bowl XLII's David-meets-Goliath tale, the 2007 Giants entered the playoffs as a humble Wild Card bid in the National Football Conference. The Giants did not clinch a postseason berth until the penultimate game of the regular season, then backed into the bracket with a 38-35 loss to the same New England Patriots whom they would play on football's biggest stage. 

Manning and the Giants defeated the Buccaneers, Cowboys, and Packers in tight games to reach Super Bowl XLII, while Brady and the Patriots defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars and the then-San Diego Chargers to arrive in Glendale seeking their fourth Super Bowl title in just seven years. 

Manning took command of Super Bowl XLII from the outset, utilizing expert ball control to keep New England's offense on ice. The Big Blue began the game by breaking a record for the longest-timed scoring drive in Super Bowl history, a mark that had been previously set by head coach Bill Parcells' Giants in Super Bowl XXV. Manning's offense took 9:59 off the game clock with a 63-yard march that resulted in a field goal from placekicker Lawrence Tynes. The Patriots responded with a touchdown to take a 7-3 lead, but by then, it was already the second quarter. 

New York's defense flourished in a slower-paced Super Bowl than anticipated, stripping Brady of the football to douse New England's hopes of adding more points before halftime. By then, a Giants pass rush led by defensive ends Michael Strahan and Justin Tuck had begun taking "Tom Terrific" to the turf. The Patriots led by the same 7-3 score during a halftime that featured Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. 

The Patriots drove to the Giants 25-yard line following a painful third-quarter penalty on New York for 12 players on the field. Faced with a potential 11-point deficit, the Big Blue called on their greatest pass rusher in Strahan. The future NFL broadcast star made the final sack of his career to knock Brady and the Patriots back to the 31-yard line. The Pats got no points from the drive in a scoreless third frame. 

If anyone thought Super Bowl XLII was going to be a dud after watching the first three quarters, they didn't need to worry. Fireworks erupted when Manning hit tight end Kevin Boss for a 45-yard reception early in the fourth quarter. Eli finished the drive with a 5-yard touchdown throw to David Tyree to give New York a 10-7 lead. New England soon fought back with an 80-yard drive capped off by a TD pass via the Pats' dynamic duo, Brady throwing to Moss for a 6-yard score and a 14-10 lead with 2:42 remaining in Glendale's fateful fourth quarter.

New England looked poised to win Super Bowl XLII and complete its perfect 19-0 campaign. Instead, all the Pats' touchdown did was set up one of the NFL's greatest drives ever.

What happened next is well known to football fans across generations. Tyree was Manning's only hope on a prayer of a pass thrown down the middle on 3rd-and-5 from the Giants' 44-yard line. The unheralded veteran wide receiver made what many consider to be the greatest catch in Super Bowl history, pinning the football against his helmet after outleaping New England's safety Rodney Harrison and fighting for possession.

Manning and Tyree's miracle gave New York the spark needed to take a decisive 17-14 lead on a 13-yard touchdown catch by Plaxico Burress.

Less iconic, but just as satisfying for Giants fans, was the defensive stand that followed. Brady's offense, having set so many records in the regular season, went nowhere but backward against New York as New England tried to respond in the game's waning moments. Brady was sacked for a fifth time in the contest, this time by Giants' defensive tackle Jay Alford, before turning the ball over on downs with 0:01 left.

Manning was named Super Bowl XLII's Most Valuable Player for his triumph over Brady and the Patriots. It wouldn't be his last one. 

The Giants and Patriots each took four years to return to the Super Bowl, meeting for the NFL title in a rematch at Lucas Oil Stadium on Feb. 5, 2012. While Brady remains the QB atop "greatest of all time" lists, you can't say that Manning didn't have Brady and the Patriots' number in the big game. Manning won the MVP award again following Super Bowl XLVI, in which the Giants defeated the Patriots 21-17. New York's 2011 team became the first Super Bowl winner with only a 9-7 record in the NFL regular season, again winning the crown as a Wild Card.