GLENDALE, Ariz. — What does it all mean now for the Patriots?
What did 18-0 mean after all?
What did the unblemished 16-0 regular season mean?
What did the NFL-record 589 points scored mean?
What did the NFL-record 50 touchdown passes thrown by Tom Brady mean?
What does it all mean if the job isn’t completed?
This is something the Patriots now have months and months to ponder after their gut-wrenching 17-14 loss to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII tonight at University of Phoenix Stadium.
The asterisk that has followed the Patriots since Spygate rocked their world became a footnote last night.
Never in the history of sports has an 18-1 record felt more sickening than the one the Patriots will leave Arizona with tomorrow.
After two weeks of raging rhetoric about what seemed to be impending perfection for the Patriots, the Giants turned New England’s immortality into utter ignominy.
While the 1972 Dolphins rejoice as they remain the only NFL team to ever complete a regular season and postseason undefeated, the Patriots will wonder where it all went wrong.
Giants receiver Plaxico Burress was ridiculed by the Patriots during the hype week leading up to the game after his prediction in The Post that the Giants would win the game 23-17.
Brady had mused almost incredulously that the Giants’ defense was going to hold his high-powered offense to only 17 points. Well, they did better. Brady and his offense were so stifled they managed two touchdowns in the game.
Brady joked about whether Burress was playing defense. Well, he didn’t need do; the Giants defense died just fine with their ferocious pass rush and stout play in the secondary.
In the end, as this historic season the Patriots had been authoring since back in September, 18 wins could not buy them the most important victory of all _ the one to place them by themselves in their own category of immortality.
The Patriots’ route to immortality tumbled improbably off a cliff.