NFL

Giants owner calls run ‘pleasant surprise’

GREEN BAY, Wis. — There are playoff runs that can be anticipated and others, like the wild 2007 ride, sneak up on you. John Mara, the Giants’ co-owner, knows which one this is.

“I would say so, yeah, a pleasant surprise,’’ Mara said last night outside a calm but proud visitors’ locker room inside Lambeau Field after the Giants dispatched the Packers, 37-20 in the NFC Divisional round. “I thought the first half of the season we had a chance to do something and then we went on that streak in the third quarter of the season when we lost four in a row. Everybody has their doubts at that point. There’s something about winning in Dallas that picked us up and beating the Jets and we just started rolling. Who knows where it can end.’’

Mara wants to see it end in Indianapolis, site of Super Bowl XLVI, a destination that not long ago seemed far away and unreachable.

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Asked if he thinks this is a special team, Mara said, “We’ll see. We got two more games to find out. We’re on a great streak right now and it’s a tribute to the coach and his staff and to the quarterback and our defense. I think the light went on a few weeks ago and hopefully it stays on now. I’m just proud of the whole group of ’em.”

Mara gushed about Eli Manning, who tossed three touchdown passes, threw for 330 yards and compiled a quarterback rating of 114.5, outplaying Aaron Rodgers.

“He just is such a smart player, such an accurate passer and he’s so cool under pressure,’’ Mara said. “That’s what you need in your quarterback. He’s given that to us time and time again. It feels pretty good, not to mention when the face of your franchise is that type of individual, too. It’s a pretty good feeling to have that.’’