Tom Coughlin was frozen in time, and it wasn’t just the 23-below-zero windchill that made him hesitate. His bright red cheeks blended with a look of indecision as he pondered whether the Giants should punt the ball back to Brett Favre or have Lawrence Tynes attempt a 47-yard field goal that could send the Giants to the Super Bowl.
It was overtime of the NFC Championship at Lambeau Field on Jan. 20, 2008, and the Giants had stalled at the Packers 29-yard line after an interception by cornerback Corey Webster ended Favre’s first chance to play hero in overtime.
Tynes had missed his two previous attempts: a 43-yarder late in the fourth quarter and an ugly low shank from 36 yards after a high snap to end regulation tied at 20-20. Another missed field goal would give the Packers good field position.
“I was standing close to Tom, and I just figured I was going to go out and punt because Lawrence had already missed two other kicks,” recalled Jeff Feagles, who was the Giants punter and also served as Tynes’ holder. “It would have been a 47-, 48-yard field goal and the weather was just ridiculous.”
While Feagles waited for a decision from Coughlin, Tynes ran on the field without confirmation from his head coach. It might have been the third-coldest game in NFL history behind the Ice Bowl between the Packers and Cowboys in 1967 and the Freezer Bowl between the Bengals and Chargers in 1982. And Tynes might have just missed two pressure-packed kicks, but he had confidence in himself if no one else did.
“I ran out there and get to my spot, and I look around and there’s no holder and there’s no snapper,” Tynes told The Post this week. “I don’t know if [Coughlin] was going to pull the trigger or not, but I think I made the decision for him.”
It had been a classic NFL postseason battle between two legendary franchises played in bone-chilling weather of 1-below zero with a brutal windchill. Eli Manning would complete 21-of-40 passes for 251 yards, while Favre would connect on 19-of-35 for 236 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Plaxico Burris victimized Packers cornerback Al Harris for 11 receptions worth 151 yards, while the Giants defense limited Green Bay to 28 yards rushing.
Yet, a desire to escape the elements heightened Tynes’ urgency to end it as soon as possible. His season-long kick in the best of conditions was from 48 yards. This was from 47 inside an igloo. But amid the doubters, Tynes was confident enough to take the field before being instructed by his head coach. He knew if he got a good snap and a good hold, he could make the kick. Not because of two he made from 29 and 37 yards in the first half, but because of the 43-yarder he missed wide left.
“I hit the 43-yarder about as good as I could hit a ball that day,” Tynes said. “I just didn’t start it far enough right. I knew I could get it there based on how I hit that kick. I just needed to start it a little bit further to the right.”
When Coughlin sent the field-goal unit in, the snap was perfect, the hold was perfect and so was the kick. The Giants were headed to the Super Bowl.
“On a good day, if it was 80 degrees, that thing was good from 60,” Tynes said. “I hit it right on the screws.”
He would kick another field goal four years later in an overtime game in San Francisco that sent the Giants to another Super Bowl after the 2011 season. But that day in Green Bay still ranks as his favorite moment.
“I look back on that and for me that was the best game I’ve had because of the situation, the elements, the moment and battling back after missing,” Tynes said. “That was a great experience. But we couldn’t get into the locker room fast enough.”