New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning hoists the Vince Lombardi Trophy after Super Bowl XLVI against the New England Patriots. Credit: Andrew Mills/THE STAR-LEDGER via US PRESSWIRE

The New York Giants are world champions after defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI. Here are some thoughts on the game:

• Don’t confuse a great finish with a great game. That was a sloppy contest that almost lulled me to sleep in the middle quarters, but it got electric in crunch time which is all you can ask for when it comes to the Super Bowl. It was set up perfectly for the Giants to kick a game winning field goal as time expired after a clutch drive by Eli Manning, but Ahmad Bradshaw inexplicably ran it into the end zone with a minute left in the game when the Patriots only hope was to let the Giants score and get the ball back. That the Giants allowed that tactic to work would have been an epic blunder had Brady come through with some heroics of his own. In the end, however, the Giants defense stood tall and made the 21-17 lead hold up to give the New York Giants the Super Bowl Championship.
• After the game I actually felt like no one really deserved to be the Super Bowl MVP; I thought it was that ugly of a game. But looking back it probably should have been awarded to Justin Tuck rather than Eli Manning. He was a force all night, caused the early safety which was huge, and finished with 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss and 3 quarterback hits.
• The Patriots have still not won the Super Bowl since 2004 despite being generally considered the best team of the last decade.
• There have been 2 quarterbacks in league history with 5 Super Bowl starts, John Elway and Tom Brady. Elway lost his first 3 starts before winning his last 2, and Brady won his first 3 starts before losing his last 2.

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