Eli books second straight Manning Super Bowl

Jan 21, 2008 - 5:44 PM By Bob Birge PA SportsTicker Staff Writer

The day after the Indianapolis Colts won the Super Bowl last season, Peyton Manning insisted that it wouldn't be long before his younger brother also reached pro football's biggest stage.

Sunday night at frigid Lambeau Field, those words proved prophetic as the New York Giants completed their improbable run to the Super Bowl with a 23-20 overtime victory over the Green Bay Packers.

New York earned a Super Bowl rematch with the unbeaten New England Patriots, who completed their 16-0 regular season with a 38-35 victory at Giants Stadium on December 29.

"You never know when you're going to get your opportunity, when something is going to click, when you're going to get hot," Giants quarterback Eli Manning said. "You're just playing your best football at a certain time and that's what's happened to us."

While Archie Manning was at Lambeau Field watching his youngest son, Peyton Manning stayed home, fearing that he would jinx his sibling.

The last time Peyton saw his brother play in person, Eli Manning struggled through perhaps the worst game of his career. He threw four interceptions in New York's 41-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at Giants Stadium on November 25 - three of which were returned for touchdowns.

Following that debacle, few could have envisioned the Giants in the Super Bowl. Manning was even criticized by his own general manager, Jerry Reese, who called the quarterback "skittish."

"We've been through a lot together, and it's from coaches, players, ownership," Manning said Sunday night in the Giants' joyous locker room. "Every sort of thing has been thrown at us, and we've handled it very well."

Even though Manning was his typical laid-back self, he insisted he was excited, even if it might not have shown.

"I'm very excited," he said. "I might be a hard guy to read sometimes, but right now I'm as excited as I can be."

The Giants' march to Super Bowl XLII was a story of redemption - redemption for their kicker, redemption for their coach and redemption for their 27-year-old quarterback, who has lived in the shadow of his more famous brother.

Lawrence Tynes redeemed himself after missing two field goals in the fourth quarter, including a 36-yarder as time expired.

When Tynes' 47-yard field goal sailed through the uprights 3:25 into overtime, he became the first opposing kicker to ever made a field goal of over 40 yards in a playoff game at Lambeau Field.

Coach Tom Coughlin finally reached his first Super Bowl after losing a pair of AFC championship games with the Jacksonville Jaguars. After last season, many Giants' fans wanted Coughlin run out of town.

He was an ogre, a tyrant, a control freak with too many silly rules who couldn't relate to the modern player. Even at the start of this season, he was criticized by former Giants running back Tiki Barber, who suggested he might still be playing if it wasn't for Coughlin.

According to Barber, Coughlin took the joy out of the game. Now, Coughlin has almost certainly earned himself a contract extension, and his players love him.

Amazing what winning will do.

Then, there's Manning, who has been a different quarterback the last four weeks. It started with his four-touchdown game in the Giants' Week 17 loss to the Patriots.

"He's been patient, being relaxed, going through his read, making the right decisions," said wide receiver Plaxico Burress, who caught a career-high 11 passes for 154 yards against the Packers. "When he goes out and does stuff like that, our offense can be pretty much unstoppable."

In consecutive weeks, Manning outplayed two higher-profile quarterback in Dallas' Tony Romo and Green Bay's Brett Favre. Sunday was Manning's third straight playoff game without a turnover.

"The focus of Eli was outstanding," Coughlin said. "He just willed himself to play well."

Coughlin didn't ask Manning to win the playoff games by himself, but he did ask Manning not to lose them.

Manning wasn't spectacular in the postseason, but he made enough plays for the Giants to extend their remarkable road winning streak to 10 games, an NFL record. Like the Pittsburgh Steelers two years ago, the Giants won three road playoff games to reach the Super Bowl.

In the three playoff games, Manning completed 53-of-85 passes for 602 yards and four touchdowns.

"It's been four years and a lot of preparation, a lot of games, a lot of work, and we stuck with it," Manning said. "We believed in ourselves and we got to the Super Bowl."