Buckle up.
With the way these teams are playing, we could be in for another fantastic final 15 minutes.
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The Giants are inching closer.
A 33-yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes with 35 seconds left in the third quarter cuts New England’s lead to 17-15. The Patriots’ defense has done a solid job on the Giants’ last few offensive possessions by putting consistent pressure on Eli Manning and not allowing much on the ground to Brandon Jacobs or Ahmad Bradshaw.
Tom Brady took a hard pop from Justin Tuck at the end of the Patriots’ last drive that had team trainers briefly checking out his left shoulder on the sideline, but he appears to be fine. He was back on the field on New England’s next possession.
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Ouch. That was a painful drive for the Giants _ literally.
Sure, they got a 38-yard field goal from Lawrence Tynes to cut the deficit to 17-12, but a couple of New York’s receivers took a pounding from the Patriots.
First came a bone-crunching hit from Patrick Chung, keeping Hakeem Nicks from making a big catch, and causing the Giants receiver to shake his left arm around on the sideline. Two plays later, Sterling Moore slammed into Mario Manningham, who somehow managed to hold on for a 5-yard grab despite getting pounded into the turf.
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Tom Brady is absolutely on fire.
He just led the Patriots on an eight-play, 79-yard scoring drive, going 5 for 5 passing, to give New England a 17-9 lead. That came after he hit on all 10 passes during the Patriots’ 96-yard touchdown drive right before halftime.
The Giants need to find their pass rush _ and fast.
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We have an Ochocinco sighting at the Super Bowl.
After sitting out the AFC championship game against Baltimore, Chad Ochocinco opened the second half with his first catch, a 21-yard grab for New England. His first season with the Patriots was quiet with a career-low 15 catches, but he said he was living his dream by getting to football’s biggest game for the first time in his 11-year career.
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