http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=311106017
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Super Bowl or midseason game, Eli Manning
is the master of last-minute comebacks against the New England
Patriots.
Leading the New York Giants 80 yards in just over a minute,
Manning hit Jake Ballard for a 1-yard touchdown with 15 seconds
left for a 24-20 win on Sunday, repeating a come-from-behind
victory similar to the 2008 title game between the teams.
The Giants won that one, 17-14, on Manning's 13-yard scoring
pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds remaining. But on
Sunday, it looked like the Patriots would win with a comeback of
their own when Tom Brady threw a 14-yard pass to Rob Gronkowski,
making it 20-17 with 1:36 to go.
But the Giants (6-2) had enough time. And they had Manning.
They were helped by a 20-yard pass interference penalty against
safety Sergio Brown of the Patriots (5-3) that put the ball at
the 1 with 30 seconds left. Three plays later, Manning found
Ballard in the back left corner of the end zone.
The loss put New England into a three-way tie for the AFC East
lead with the Bills and Jets, who they visit next Sunday night.
After a scoreless first half, the Patriots took their first
lead, 13-10, on Stephen Gostkowski's 45-yard field goal with
7:08 to go. Manning then led the Giants on an 85-yard march to a
10-yard touchdown pass to Mario Manningham with 3:03 remaining,
putting the Giants on top 17-13.
The Giants won for the sixth time in seven games despite
injuries that kept their top rusher, Ahmad Bradshaw, and leading
receiver, Hakeem Nicks, from making the trip. But New York's
defense pressured Brady much of the game, coming up with two
sacks and two interceptions. New England also lost two fumbles.
Manning completed 20 of 39 passes for 250 yards with two
touchdowns and one interception. Brady was 28 for 49 for 342
yards and two touchdowns.
Both quarterbacks struggled throughout the first half.
The offense was so bad that fans booed when Brady threw an
incompletion toward Danny Woodhead with 8:30 left in the third
quarter. They cheered on the very next play when Aaron Ross
fumbled Zoltan Mesko's punt and Rob Ninkovich recovered at the
New York 33.
But the Patriots managed just a 32-yard field goal by Gostkowski
that cut the lead to 10-3.
The Giants punted on the next series and got the ball back when
Spencer Paysinger recovered Julian Edelman's fumble.
Manning moved the Giants from the Patriots 40 to a third-and-
goal at the 5, then threw an interception to Kyle Arrington in
the end zone. Seven plays later, Brady hit Aaron Hernandez for a
5-yard touchdown, tying the game at 10 just 32 seconds into the
fourth quarter.
The Giants had much better field position in the first half,
starting at their 23, 22, 36, 28, 25 and 49. But all those
series ended with punts.
The Patriots began at their 5, 6, 17, 20, 11 and 9. They punted
four times and lost one interception before wasting their best
scoring opportunity when Gostkowski pulled his 27-yard field
goal attempt to the left with 3 seconds remaining. On that
drive, the Patriots had five first downs, matching their total
to that point.
Their next-best series of the half began at their 17 and ended
on the first play of the second quarter. With the ball at the
New York 29, Brady's pass was tipped by Michael Boley and
intercepted by Mathias Kiwanuka, who returned it to the Giants
28.