Like the great heavyweight bout in ‘73, when George Foreman knocked the stuffing out of undefeated (29-0) champ Joe Frazier in a bout held in Jamaica, the New York Giants stepped on the University of Phoenix field and put the undefeated (18-0) New England Patriots on their back en route to capturing the Super Bowl XLII championship title.

Even if your favorite team was left out of this year’s big game, the game provided plenty of excitement to go around. The excitement followed all the way into the 4th quarter, leaving the record 97.5 million viewers on the edge of their seats down the wire.

Here were a few of the keys to the Giants victory on their way to one of the most incredible upsets (yes, Giants fans, it was an upset… the Pats were favored by 12 points going in, and were 18-0) in Super Bowl history:

Tom Brady Could Never Get Comfortable
The MVP trophy should be in the hands of the entire Giants defensive line. Throughout the entire game, Justin Tuck, Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora and the rest of the defensive front line kept Tom Brady scrambling for his life. They brought Brady down 5 times for a sack and put him on his backside on several other occasions. Their intensity, paired with defensive coach Steve Spagnuolo’s aggressive blitz calls, helped hold the typically potent New England offense to 14 points and 274 total yards. At some points, Brady seemed uncharacteristically inaccurate (during the regular season he completed nearly 70% of his passes) due to the overload and extra pressure he faced. This was the main stat line of the game, although there were plenty of other factors assisting in the Giants’ victory, including…

Eli Manning Surprising Poised and Clutch Performance
A buddy of mine loves the Giants. Going into both the Giants/Cowboys and Giants/Packers match-ups, I asked a simple question to which I could receive no definitive answer — “How much faith would you put in Eli’s arm?” Nobody quite expected the youngest Manning brother to play like he did, but game after game he came through for his team. His 2 touchdowns in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl helped overtake the lead with under 2 minutes remaining. He moved around in the pocket comfortably — much to the credit of the wonderful gameplay by his offensive line — and even when the pocket collapsed, with the pressure on, he managed to escape harm and get his throw off. Of all of his passes in the night, none was more memorable as…

David Tyree’s Fantastic Catch On 3rd and 5
With 1:15 left on the play clock, Manning dropped back to pass on 3rd and 5 on the Giants’ 44-yard-line. The pocket collapsed quickly, and a Patriots lineman grabs hold of Manning’s jersey. Ducking, spinning and eventually eluding #97’s grip, Manning scrambles back outside the pocket, sets his feet and launches what initially looked like a prayer downfield. Giants receiver David Tyree leaps in the air and beats out seasoned veteran Rodney Harrison for a jump ball in what might have been one of the most amazing Super Bowl catches of my lifetime. (See the play here) That 32-yard gain helped give the Giants a fresh set of downs and, four plays later…

Eli Connected With Plaxico Burress For The Game-Winning TD
The Giants wide receivers had an absolutely terrific night. Take away an interception in the red zone, caused by a ball tipped off Steve Smith’s hands, and the receiver gameplay was nearly flawless. Smith stepped up for big catches, along with Amani Toomer and, of course, Tyree (see above). Burress was shadowed by extra safety help for most of the first half, limiting him to one catch early-on. But his second catch proved to be the game-winner, as he beat his defender on a simple slant-and-go route he and Manning executed perfectly.

* * * * * * * * * * *

The Patriots are reeling. They went into the game to attack a historic mark of 19-0, and came up short. During the off-season they have plenty to deal with, including the contract dealings of two of their best players — Randy Moss and Asante Samuel — and, as we briefly covered before, plenty of accusations and/or rumors to handle.

Despite falling short, the 2007-08 Patriots will still go down as one of the best teams in NFL history. They started out the season with 18 straight wins, which is an incredible feat even though they will forever be haunted by the single mark in the loss column.

Bill Belichick will undoubtedly take this loss personally. He convinced his team week-in, week-out the league was out to get them. In the Super Bowl — at least at the anti-Patriots party I attended — all but one person wanted to see Belichick’s boys catch a loss in the biggest game of the year. I say call it karmic justice. Belichick toyed with league rules throughout the year and made it very clear that his Patriots were out to destroy any and every team, even if his respect for the integrity of the game was called into question. He, more than any of the players on the team — many of whom I enjoy watching as players — deserved this loss. Even if it meant — Lord, help us all — having to put up with Mercury Morris for another long while.

The Giants played better than what was the most talented team in the NFL in Super Bowl XLII, and pulled off an incredible upset. They deserve all the accolades showered upon them.

Another important issue is that of the haters who doubted the Giants throughout their Super Bowl run. In particular, the Giants should go easy on retaliating against their former teammate, Tiki Barber, who called out the Giants organization, players and coaches early in the season on a number of fronts. There is quite a convincing argument that Tiki’s hate may have been the much-needed push to catapult New York over the top and into their incredible Super Bowl run.

No need to dwell on the past, Giants — don’t you have a Super Bowl victory parade to attend?