INDIANAPOLIS — At the end, Tom Coughlin did not need to push and prod his Giants, did not need to preach “All In” any longer, did not need to insist and demand and plea for his players to please, please, just “Finish.”
All he needed to do was watch the confetti fall after his quarterback, Eli Manning, did it again and Justin Tuck and his defense did it again, did it to the Patriots, to Bill Belichick and Tom Brady again, incredibly, impossibly and, in some strange way, naturally.
“This is the finish line for this year, yes it is!’’ Coughlin exclaimed.
COMPLETE GIANTS SUPER BOWL COVERAGE
“I don’t know if I could have written a better script than this one,’’ Tuck said, beaming.
It is rare indeed when the perfect script becomes an even better story, but with these Giants, rare is where it’s at.
The Giants last night came back to beat the Patriots 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI inside Lucas Oil Stadium in a classic game that actually equaled the 17-14 Giants victory over the Patriots four years ago, a game that went down as perhaps the greatest Super Bowl ever played.
Move over, Super Bowl XLII, there’s a challenger for the throne, but there’s no debate Manning sits atop it.
Just as he did four years, ago, Manning put his team on his back. This time, trailing 17-15, he drove the Giants 88 yards, channeling his magic David Tyree moment with a brilliant 38-yard pass to Mario Manningham, who tip-toed the left sideline between safeties Sterling Moore and Patrick Chung and made an epic catch that survived a replay challenge.
“I was in, man. It was a perfect, perfect pass,’’ Manningham said.
The catch eventually led to Ahmad Bradshaw’s 6-yard touchdown run with 57 seconds left on a play where Bradshaw actually didn’t want to score, with the Patriots giving him a clear path and Manning — with the Giants already in chip-shot field goal range — was screaming “Fall down, fall down!’’ Bradshaw stopped on the 1-yard line but his momentum carried him into the end zone to make it 21-17.
“This is twice now we’ve been on the biggest stage and gone down the field and scored a touchdown when needed,’’ guard Chris Snee said. “It all starts with Eli. He’s tremendous in the huddle, tremendous in that situation, he just did a phenomenal job.’’
The Patriots got the ball back at their 20 with 57 seconds left and one timeout to work with.
“In Foxborough (in a Nov. 6 24-20 victory over the Patriots) they scored what looked like a game-winning drive and we were sick to our stomach,’’ Tuck said. “I told the guys if they score here you’re gonna be 25 times more sick to your stomach. A lot of guys lit up. We had to go out and finish, this is what we were built for, this I what we’ve been working for all year, we got 57 seconds to be world champions.
“It’s just fitting it came down to a final drive by Eli and a closing out by our defense.’’
Fitting, and familiar, as that was the exact scenario that played out four years ago in Glendale, Ariz. Last night, Brady managed to throw for two first downs but he ran out of time, and his last-gasp Hail Mary in the end zone intended for Aaron Hernandez was knocked down in the end zone by Kenny Phillips to send the Giants into a euphoric celebration.
Manning, now a two-time Super Bowl MVP, completed 30 of 40 passes for 296 times, a first-quarter touchdown pass to Victor Cruz and no turnovers.
“This isn’t about one person,’’ Manning said. “This is about a team coming together, getting this win. I’m just proud of our guys, proud of this team and how we fought all year.’’
This journey to the promised land for the Giants was long and winding. After 14 games the Giants were 7-7 and in put-up-or-shut-up mode, turning elimination into an every-week threat to their system. They haven’t lost since, turning a high-wire act into an art form.
“This is just as exciting (as four years ago), probably more so, because of the kind of year we had,’’ Coughlin said. “What a wonderful experience it was to see this team come together like it did.’’
The Giants started with a flourish, getting a safety against Brady on the first Patriots play and Cruz’s scoring grab to lead 9-0. The Patriots drove 96 yards to pull ahead 10-9 at halftime and 17-9 early in the third quarter as Brady completed a Super Bowl record 16 consecutive passes. Two Lawrence Tynes field goals closed the deficit to 17-15 after three quarters.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Brady somehow eluded a sack attempt by Linval Joseph, rolled right and fired deep downfield as Jason Pierre-Paul shoved him down. Chase Blackburn, in coverage against a clearly-laboring Rob Gronkowski, leaped and came up with an interception on the Giants 8-yard line. The Giants later caught a break when wide-open Wes Welker couldn’t hang on to a slightly high pass he almost always catches, forcing a punt and giving Manning the ball for the winning drive.
Hard to believe.
“That’s one thing we do well around here, believe,’’ Tuck said. “You ain’t got to pinch me. We all envisioned it kind of going this way, we all envisioned it going down to the fourth quarter. It’s like Eli’s driving, Manningham makes the catch, Bradshaw drives up the middle, it was almost relaxing, as crazy as that sounds. I’m sitting on the sideline smiling, just like, ‘We’ve seen this before.’ ’’
paul.schwartz@nypost.com