Super Bowl XLII Live Online

We thought the biggest upset of this NFL season came last week, when the San Diego Chargers miraculously beat out the heavily favored Indianapolis Colts in the divisional round of the playoffs, in the RCA dome, without their starting QB, running back and tight-end. How wrong we have proven to be. The Conference Finals brought us two great games that once again showcased the beauty of the sport.

The first game of the day saw the New England Patriots face a resilient San Diego team that had starting quarterback Philip Rivers, running back LaDainian Tomlinson and tight end Antonio Gates all in questionable shape due to various injuries. Tomlinson never managed to make it back on to the field after his first three touches and both Rivers and Gates were clearly limping during intervals in plays.

‘If we have learned one thing from watching the undefeated Patriots this season it is that you must score a touchdown once you’re in the red zone, or you’ll pay for it dearly later on.’


Despite all of this, San Diego made a game of it. They seemed to be sharper, more determined early on. In fact they managed to stop MVP Tom Brady from having any meaningful drives in the first quarter. Alas they could not capitalize enough as San Diego’s lone trip to the red zone resulted in only a field goal. If we have learned one thing from watching the undefeated Patriots this season it is that you must score a touchdown once you’re in the red zone, or you’ll pay for it dearly later on.

The Chargers learned that the hard way as New England opened the second quarter with a 65-yard drive that ended with Laurence Maroney getting a one-yard rushing touchdown. The Chargers once again showed heart as they answered right back with a 65-yard drive of their own – alas, once again they only managed to notch three points in the end. The Pats once again made them pay for it, as they drove the length of the field for Brady’s touchdown pass to Jabar Gaffney. Within the last two minutes, Rivers once again took his team deep into Pats territory but they managed just a field goal with eight seconds on the clock.

The third quarter gave us one scoring opportunity, and it was once again the Chargers getting near their opposition’s end zone. For the fourth time they had to settle for the field goal.

The Pats once again answered back with a drive that resulted in a touchdown (a pass from Brady to Wes Welker). That play set up the 21-12 final result as New England from then on did not allow a clearly hobbled San Diego team to get back into the game.

So despite the Chargers having more scoring chances, despite the fact that Tom Brady had three very costly interceptions, despite a poor three quarters from the Pats they still managed to get to the big game with relative ease.

The second game gave us the upset of the season. The heavily favored home team, the Green Bay Packers, got all of their wishes. They managed to evade a meeting with the Dallas Cowboys, they had the game scheduled at Lambeau in deep freeze conditions (-19 degrees centigrade) plus they seemingly had the edge in the QB battle with legendary Brett Favre going up against “kid brother” Eli Manning.

Yet when it all started it was the Giants who drew first blood. Manning started red hot in the freezing cold and drove his team over 70 yards for the first points of the game, a 29-yard field goal from Lawrence Tynes (remember that name). The Pack could not get going once again, and Manning managed to calmly lead his team to another field goal, this time a 37-yard effort.

After all of this it was time for Favre to step up. On the ensuing possession he delivered a pass to Donald Driver who shook off defenders and broke away for a 90-yard touchdown reception. The Giants could not get it going and following a nice punt return the Pack scored a field goal with a little less than two minutes left.

At this point I’m thinking, here comes Eli’s “two-minute magic” show, and boy he almost pulled it off once again. A 32-yard pass to Plaxico Burress set up a possibility for a scoring drive. On the following play Manning went deep to Plax once again, and he seemingly caught the ball and then fumbled it at the two-yard line, but replays clearly showed that he never managed to gain full control of the ball. Manning threw the perfect pass, only the weather conditions were not exactly ideal for such a play.

With this opportunity wasted the Giants made up for it by opening the third quarter with a touchdown drive. The final play, a one-yard run by Brandon Jacobs, was preceded by two penalties to the defensive line. Jacobs did not make his patented throw towards the low box following the touchdown, but rather opted to taunt fans with a parody of the “Packer leap” loved by Cheeseheads and so often seen at Lambeau.

After a short drive by Favre’s Pack, Eli and his boys came back and drove to the end zone once again. This time second running back Ahmad Bradshaw finished off the scoring drive with a four-yard rush for a touchdown.

After all of this came a crazy, wacky fourth quarter that nobody could have predicted. It all began with a Brett Favre interception that RW McQuarters pulled down. He started running with it and fumbled it a few yards later, thus Green Bay was in prime position for a score. They kicked the field goal for a 20-20 tie.

What ensued was even more maddening. The Giants drove all the way to the Green Bay 25-yard line only to see Tynes miss a field goal attempt. Green Bay punted then the Giants punted and then Green Bay punted again. McQuarters ran that punt back nicely into Green Bay territory and then fumbled it. Luckily for the Giants Dominic Hixon was there to pick it up. Eli Manning drove the team to the Pack’s 18-yard line, ran down the clock to four seconds and ...  Tynes missed another field goal.

Overtime! The Packers win the coin toss. They set up at their own 26 after Koren Robinson’s kick return. Favre hands it off to Ryan Grant for a two-yard rush. Second play of the drive – Favre drops back, passes to the right sideline towards Donald Driver where Corey Webster was just waiting to pounce on the ball, interception. The Giants manage to get to the 30-yard line, which seemed way too far for a field goal for the shaky Tynes. Never before has there been a field goal at Lambeau in the playoffs of over 40 yards, and Tynes had to kick it in from 47. He began his routine for the kick, then came the snap, and Tynes kicked a perfect one smack down the middle for the win!

Thus we have the most improbable pairing in the Super Bowl. The unbeaten Patriots were definitely expected to be here, but if at the beginning of these playoffs anyone would have said the Giants would get there they would have been sent to an asylum. The NFC’s fifth seed has reached the big game. Can they beat the unbeaten New England team? We’ll see ...