NFL

Painful victory for Giants tight ends

INDIANAPOLIS — As the Giants celebrated on the field following last night’s thrilling 21-17 victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, two of their tight ends, Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum, could only watch on the sideline, both standing with the aid of crutches. Both were injured during the game and Beckum’s injury will likely cost him the entire 2012 season.

Early in the first quarter, Beckum went down in a heap and needed help to hobble off the field. The news came quickly and was not good. Beckum tore his anterior cruciate ligament and not only missed the remainder of the game, but it is likely he will miss all of next season.

Ballard went down early in the fourth quarter and limped off the field with what was diagnosed as a torn meniscus cartilage in his left knee. Ballard missed two games late in the season with a partially torn posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

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It usually takes 8-10 months for a torn ACL to heal, meaning Beckum would not be ready to return until sometime in October at the earliest. After a regular season in which he was largely a non-factor, Beckum came alive in the playoffs with nine receptions. He did not have any catches in his first Super Bowl before he got hurt.

Ballard did not even see the game-winning touchdown run by Ahmad Bradshaw with 57 seconds left because he was back in the trainers’ room.

“No TV, no phone, no nothing,” Ballard said. “All I could hear were cheers, so I had one of the doctors run out there and he came back in going nuts, so I knew we scored.’’