an average of more than 36 points per game Brady tossed a record 50 touchdown passes Moss hauled in 23 of them All of those were records The Patriots finished the regular season 16 0 and won two playoff games to reach the Super Bowl But the National Football Conference NFC champion New York Giants got the last laugh The Giants had lost to New England in the last game of the regular season and barely made the playoffs But quarterback Eli Manning got hot and led the team to three straight wins on the road in the postseason That put the Giants in New England’s path to perfection and they weren’t about to to perfection and they weren’t about to get steamrolled get steamrolled New York kept Brady in check New York kept Brady in check for most of the for most of the game But finally game But finally with less than with less than three minutes three minutes to play Brady to play Brady found Moss for a found Moss for a touchdown pass That touchdown pass That gave the Patriots a 14 10 lead gave the Patriots a 14 10 lead Perfection was in reach But it Perfection was in reach But it was not to be Down to one last was not to be Down to one last Tom Brady and the Patriots beat the Giants to finish the season 16 0 But the playoffs would be a different story
Tyree left holds off Harrison to make the big catch chance Manning escaped a pass rush near midfield and heaved the ball toward backup wide receiver David Tyree who was one-on-one with Patriots safety Rodney Harrison at New England’s 25-yard line Tyree jumped and pinned the ball to his helmet It was one of the most amazing catches in football history The Patriots were stunned The Giants took the lead four plays later and New England’s shot at 19 0 was gone Although the Patriots have won more championships since the one that got away still stings
CHAPTER 2 SUPER BOWL STUNNER In 1994 Kurt Warner was bagging groceries at a store in Iowa He made 5 50 an hour and hoped his football career wasn’t over Seven years later Warner was a two-time winner of the NFL’s Most Valuable Player MVP Award The quarterback with the lightning-quick release led an offense that had one of the coolest nicknames ever the Greatest Show on Turf The St Louis Rams won the Super Bowl after the 1999 season with Warner star running back Marshall Faulk and wide receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt lighting up the scoreboard In 2001 the Rams were even better going 14 2 during the regular season Faulk scored 21 touchdowns Bruce and Holt both topped 1,100 yards receiving They appeared to be unstoppable But the New England Patriots found the recipe to stun St Louis in the Super Bowl Adam Vinatieri kicked a last-second field goal to give New England the 20 17 win And just like that the curtain came down on the Greatest Show on Turf Adam Vinatieri connects on a 48-yard field goal to end the Rams dreams of winning another Super Bowl
