Which Super Bowl was better, 42, involving the New York Giants and New England Patriots, or 51, the most recent involving overtime.
Super Bowl 51 was, undoubtedly, one of the greatest games in NFL history. The New England Patriots overcame a 25 point third quarter deficit, led by a superhuman Tom Brady (who threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns) to defeat the Atlanta Falcons in the first overtime game in Super Bowl history.This game has already received plaudits as the greatest Super Bowl in NFL history, but a case can be made for Super Bowl 42, when the New York Giants defeated the 18-0 New England Patriots, 17-14, in one of the greatest sporting upsets of all time.
This article will explore the circumstances and happenings of each Super Bowl in comparison to the other, and ultimately will voice an opinion as to which Super Bowl was better (and perhaps, which Super Bowl was the greatest of All-Time: 42 or 51?
The Circumstances
Going into Super Bowl 42, the hype surrounding the New England Patriots was astronomical. After a record-setting regular season, in which quarterback Tom Brady and wide receiver Randy Moss set records for most touchdowns in a single season, the Patriots roared into the big game with an 18-0 record. After two strong playoff performances, New England had a chance to be the first team since the 1972 Dolphins to go undefeated over the course of an entire season. Additionally, their record would have been 19-0, better than Miami’s mark of 17-0.
The Giants were simply the underdogs, expected to roll over and be a footnote in history. After an 0-2 start, the Giants finished the season at 10-6 to make the playoffs. In Week 17, they hosted the Patriots, and attempted to end their perfect season, but fell just short, losing 38-35. The slim defeat, however, gave them confidence that they could potentially give the Pats a game if the two teams met again.
In the postseason, the Giants won three straight on the road, upending NFC South champions Tampa Bay, NFC East champions and top seed Dallas, and NFC North champions Green Bay, making an improbable run to the Super Bowl.
Going into Super Bowl 51, the focus on New England was redemption: After Roger Goodell’s ruthless persecution of the team following the Deflategate scandal saw Brady suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season, the Patriots were motivated to exact the ultimate revenge on the league by winning the Super Bowl, and forcing Goodell to hand the trophy to them. At 14-2, the Pats held the best record in the NFL, and won both of their home playoff games against Houston and Pittsburgh with relative comfort.
The Falcons, meanwhile, boasted the best offense in the NFL, scoring a league high 540 points. Led by League MVP and Offensive Player of the Year Matt Ryan, and superstar wideout Julio Jones, they came into the game as 3 and a half point underdogs. However, many thought that Atlanta would not be able to rush four vs. Brady, and that their defense would not be able to hold up against such a legendary quarterback.
In terms of the buildup and circumstances of the game, there is no debate — Super Bowl 42 wins handily. The hype surrounding the Patriots potential 19-0 season far exceeded the Deflategate redemption. And while the Falcons were generally perceived as a more exciting opponent compared to a Wild Card Giants team, the Patriots quest for perfection made Super Bowl 42 one of the most hyped up games ever.
Edge: Super Bowl 42
The Catch
Both of these games had an incredible, against the odds, gravity defying reception in the final drive of regulation.In Super Bowl 42, there was the helmet catch. On 3rd-and-5, with just over a minute remaining, Eli Manning was smothered by Patriots defensive lineman. Instead of taking a sure sack, however, Manning slipped away, and gunned a bullet down the center of the field (never a good idea, usually) to reserve wide receiver David Tyree, who made the greatest play in NFL history, catching the ball with safety Rodney Harrison draped all over him, and pinning it to his helmet as he fell to the ground, before maintaining possession as he slammed to the floor.
The catch defied belief. Manning’s elusiveness, his incredibly gutsy throw, and Tyree’s catch — the degree of difficulty, the fact that he pinned it against his helmet, the fact that Harrison was literally on top of him, the fact that it was a no name receiver who made the catch — it still gives me chills watching it to this day.
However, Julian Edelman‘s catch in Super Bowl 51 was Tyree-esque — in fact, many believed that this catch was finally a reciprocation by the football gods, evening the status quo for the Patriots after the Helmet Catch nine years earlier. Brady threw the ball over the middle, looking for Edelman, who was surrounded by three Falcons defenders.
Robert Alford, who previously had a pick six in the game, tipped the ball up when all four players dived for it. The ball deflected off a shoe, and then bounced off Edelman’s hands before he snatched it. When Edelman made the catch, the ball was mere centimeters away from touching the turf and being ruled incomplete.
The catch put the Patriots in Falcons territory, and a few plays later, the game was tied, following a James White touchdown run and a Danny Amendola two-point conversion.
While Edelman’s catch was amazing, there are three reasons why it is not as good as Tyree’s. First, his catch required a great deal of luck — Alford’s tip could have gone anywhere, and if the ball doesn’t bounce up off a shoe, Edelman likely doesn’t make the catch.
Tyree’s catch, however, required a ton of skill, concentration, and will– he was incredibly pragmatic by pinning the ball to his helmet, and the concentration and sheer determination that Tyree required to keep the ball from falling was remarkable.
The second factor is the quarterback. Brady was not at all under pressure when he threw the pass. Meanwhile, Manning was nearly sacked by three players, before evading them and slinging it downfield. The degree of difficulty on the throwing side was just as high as the catch.
Third, was circumstance. The Giants were facing a 3rd-and-5, and the Patriots had a 1st-and-10. If Eli gets sacked, it’s 4th-and-long. If the pass is incomplete, it’s still 4th-and-5. If Edelman doesn’t make the catch, it’s 2nd-and-10. The Patriots had already converted on second and third and long during that drive.
Throw in that the Tyree catch happened on the game-winning drive, and the Edelman catch happened on the game-tying drive, and we have another clear winner here.
Edge: Super Bowl 42
The Drive
Each game had comeback drives that resulted in victory. Eli Manning’s 12 play, 83-yard drive featured several massive plays that led to the resulting touchdown. On 3rd-and-10, Manning found a diving Amani Toomer to give the Giants a 4th-and-1. On the next play, Brandon Jacobs converted, barely.Then, there was the previously discussed helmet catch. Three plays later, Manning hit Steve Smith on the sideline on 3rd-and-11, a massively under looked play, to set the Giants up inside the 15 with 39 seconds left, where Eli found Plaxico Burress for the game-winning touchdown.
Eli’s drive was tremendous, but Tom Brady needed to make five of those drives to win the Super Bowl.
Down 28-3, Brady led the Pats on five straight scoring drives (not including the end of regulation kneel down). He hit James White to make it 28-9. He marched the Pats to a field goal to make it 28-12. With a short field following a Dont’a Hightower forced fumble, he found Amendola to make it 28-20. To end regulation, he marched them nearly 90 yards, including the Edelman catch, before James White punched it in from one-yard out. And in overtime, he took the Pats 75 yards in nine plays, before White’s walk-off touchdown.
Brady’s last three drives were individually as impressive as Eli’s one drive, and therefore, Super Bowl 51 takes the cake.
Edge: Super Bowl 51
What about the Falcons?
One argument that can be made regarding the Super Bowls and the difference between them is the collapse of the Falcons. The Giants played an incredibly strong Patriots team and beat them. They pressured Brady all night, they didn’t allow any long touchdowns to Randy Moss, and they held a record-breaking offense to just 14 points over four quarters. Essentially, they beat the Patriots.
As good as the Patriots were in the fourth quarter, they had no business being in that game. In particular two plays stand out that spelled doom for the Falcons — inexplicable coaching decisions that invited the Patriots back into the game.
First, on 3rd-and-1, with the score at 28-12, the Falcons did not run the ball (with Devonta Freeman, who was having a terrific game). Instead, they dropped back to pass, Freeman missed his block on Hightower, and Matt Ryan fumbled. Minutes later, it was 28-20.
However, the worst play call of all happened with four minutes left in regulation. Up 28-20, Ryan found Julio Jones for one of the greatest catches in Super Bowl history. It looked like a Tyree-Mario Manningham–Jermaine Kearse look-alike.
More importantly, it put the Falcons in field goal range, meaning they had to run a few plays (and force the Patriots to call timeouts) and then kick a field goal that would give them an 11 point lead, and surely, surely put the game out of reach.
However, on 2nd and long, Matt Ryan was sacked for a loss of ten, which knocked them out of field goal range. The next play, Jake Matthews was called for holding, forcing the Falcons back a further 10 yards, forcing them to punt the ball to Brady down 8 with 3 minutes left, 2 timeouts, and the two-minute warning.
The only plays that the Patriots can cite in Super Bowl 42 as one that they should have made to beat the Giants are Asante Samuel‘s dropped pick on the last drive, and not sacking Manning before the helmet catch. Neither of those were glaring coaching mistakes, however, and neither overshadowed how terrific the Giants were.
The headline question in all sports discussion the morning after the game asked: Did the Patriots beat the Falcons, or did the Falcons beat themselves? In Super Bowl 42, there was no such question; rather, the statement that the Giants beat the Patriots.
Edge: Super Bowl 42
The Legacy
This one is too close to call. The legacy for all parties involved is largely important in each franchise’s history.
Super Bowl 42 was a massive missed opportunity for the Patriots — the 2007 Pats were the best team assembled in the Brady -Belichick era, and a 19-0 season would have culminated the greatest campaign in NFL history. The Helmet Catch still haunts Patriots fans to this day.
As for the Giants, they not only won their third Super Bowl in franchise history, but they recorded the greatest upset in NFL history and the greatest play in Super Bowl history. Not too shabby. Additionally, the game is the defining moment in Eli Manning’s career, and it allowed Giants legend Michael Strahan to retire a champion. Despite terrific Super Bowls vs. Buffalo, and the rematch vs. New England in 2012, this game remains the signature contest in the history of the Giants decorated franchise.
Super Bowl 51, however, represented a culmination of Brady and Belichick’s efforts. Five rings for Brady is the most ever by a quarterback, putting him over Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw. Bill Belichick also set a record for most Super Bowl wins by a head coach. Throw in the Deflategate storyline, and the fact that the game was the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, and you have a pretty killer legacy.
As for the Falcons, this could be a franchise defining loss if they don’t bounce back. While they have an incredibly talented and young team, few losses can be as crippling as this.
This category is by far the closest to call, but because of the magnitude of the victory for the Patriots, it takes the cake, only just.
Edge: Super Bowl 51, by the slimmest of margins.
The Verdict
This is incredibly difficult to call. Both games were incredible. They included late game heroics, career-defining moments, historic catches, and lasting legacies. At the end of the day, however, the deciding factor has to be the fact that New England was expected to win the game. They were the favorites, and despite falling behind 28-3, and conjuring up a comeback for the ages, they still covered.
The Giants were the second biggest underdog in Super Bowl history and took down an 18-0 offensive juggernaut led by Brady at his apex.
When comparing the magic of the Giants to the machinery of Brady and Belichick, the magic squeaks ahead. Sunday night’s Super Bowl was one of the most incredible Super Bowls of all time– but it isn’t the best. That distinction remains with Super Bowl 42.