Super Bowl XLII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion underdog New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2007 season. The game was played on February 3, 2008, at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Despite New England being heavily favored heading into the game, the Giants defeated the Patriots by the score of 17–14. The game is regarded as one of the biggest upsets in the history of professional sports, as well as one of the greatest Super Bowl games ever.
The Patriots entered the game as 12-point favorites after becoming the first team to complete a perfect regular season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, and the only one since the league expanded to a 16-game regular season schedule in 1978. The Giants, who finished the regular season with a 10–6 record, were seeking to become the first NFC wild card team to win a Super Bowl, and were also looking for their third Super Bowl victory and first since they won Super Bowl XXV seventeen years earlier. This Super Bowl was also a rematch of the final game of the regular season, in which New England won, 38–35.
In the fourth quarter, down 14–10, the Giants started their game-winning drive on their own 17-yard line with 2:39 left. In the drive's most memorable play, David Tyree made the "Helmet Catch" on 3rd down, a leaping one-handed catch pinning the football with his right hand to the crown of his helmet for a 32-yard first down conversion. After a second first-down conversion by Steve Smith on 3rd and 11, wide receiver Plaxico Burress scored the winning touchdown on a 13-yard reception with 35 seconds remaining. The Giants' game winning-drive is often regarded as the greatest in NFL history.
The game was tight throughout, with both teams' defense dominating the competition until near the end of the game. The game featured five lead changes (New York took it three times and New England twice). Only 10 total points were scored in the first three quarters. The Giants consumed a Super Bowl-record 9 minutes and 59 seconds on their opening drive, but could only manage a field goal. The Patriots then responded with running back Laurence Maroney's 1-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter. After a scoreless third quarter, the fourth quarter saw a Super Bowl-record three lead changes. After Tyree's 3-yard touchdown reception at the beginning of the quarter, New England wide receiver Randy Moss made a 6-yard touchdown reception with 2:42 left to play before New York's game-winning drive. Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who completed 19 of 34 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception, was named Super Bowl MVP. Giants defensive end Michael Strahan, who retired following the victory, had two tackles and one sack. This game was the first since Super Bowl IX in 1975 (in which the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings 16–6) that neither team scored at least 20 points. This game was also the first Super Bowl game with three fourth-quarter lead changes, and the only one to date.
Super Bowl XLII was ranked fifth on NFL.com's 100 Greatest Games, the highest ranked Super Bowl game, while Tyree's catch was ranked third on NFL.com's 100 Greatest Plays. Many other media outlets rank Super Bowl XLII as the greatest Super Bowl ever. Many sports websites consider it not only as one of the most iconic moments of the 2000s in regards to sports, but as one of the most iconic sports moments.
The telecast of the game on Fox broke the then-record for the most watched Super Bowl in history with an average of 97.5 million viewers in the United States
Match Card[]
| Abby Blue Winter defeated Justine Winter | |||
| Abby Blue Winter defeated Ava Moreno | |||
| Bob the Beast Sapp defeated CM Punk |