Early on it appeared as though it would be New York's night, as they jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead on a safety and a touchdown drive that ended when Eli Manning found Victor Cruz over the middle. The Patriots had run one play from scrimmage and found themselves down two scores, but not surprisingly, they weren't about to make it easy on New York.
New England rallied for 10 points in the second quarter, including a short touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Danny Woodhead, and took a 10-9 lead into halftime. Early in the third quarter, the Patriots extended that lead to 17-9 on another Tom Brady touchdown pass. The Giants put together a pair of scoring drives after that but settled for a field goal in both cases, narrowing the gap to 17-15 as the fourth quarter began.
The game came down to one final drive by the New York Giants, which began with less than four minutes remaining in the game. Eli Manning hit Mario Manningham for a big gain to get the Giants near midfield, and they were able to chip away from there, and eventually Ahmad Bradshaw gave them the decisive margin with a touchdown run with 57 seconds remaining.
For more on the Patriots and their Super Bowl run, check out SB Nation's Patriots blog, Pats Pulpit as well as SB Nation Boston. For more on the Giants and their Super Bowl appearance, visit Giants blog Big Blue View and SB Nation New York. For all news and information regarding Super Bowl XLVI, please stay tuned to SB Nation's dedicated Super Bowl hub.