2007 New York Giants season

Expectations After their poor finish to the 2006 season, where the Giants lost 7 of their last 9 games after a 6–2 start (albeit achieving a playoff berth in the last week of the season), expectations for the Giants were generally low. Many pundits began to consider Eli Manning as a potential draft bust, especially when considering fellow 2004 draft pick Ben Roethlisberger's Super Bowl run in 2005 and Philip Rivers leading his team, the Chargers, to a 14–2 regular season in 2006; making matters worse, older brother Peyton Manning, who Eli was often compared unfavorably to, had led the Colts to the Super Bowl victory that same year and won the MVP of the game. At the same time, head coach Tom Coughlin came under intense criticism due to his fiery coaching style and strict team rules, and many (including fans) believed that he deserved to be fired after the team's collapse in the second half of the season. In particular, they noted the team's lack of discipline and unity down the stretch and considered these actions a reflection of Coughlin's coaching. Finally Tiki Barber, the Giants's all-time leading rusher and the catalyst for much of their success the previous two seasons, retired at just 31 years of age to enter a broadcasting career. The Giants decided to give Tom Coughlin one more chance heading into the 2007 season, giving him a one-year contract extension. This essentially indicated that he needed to get the Giants into the postseason in order to receive a long-term contract extension. After his family demonstrated concern over his on-field persona and his apparent anger towards his players, Coughlin decided to undergo a personality change heading into the season. While his strict team rules (most notoriously, his five-minute early rule for a team meeting) remained in place, he became less angry and more encouraging towards his players, and the players took note of his change. Coughlin also set up a leadership committee with Eli Manning and other team captains in order to relate to his players better. The Giants also entered the season with two new coordinators. Coughlin promoted quarterbacks coach Kevin Gilbride to offensive coordinator, a position he would hold until his retirement after the 2013 season. He also fired defensive coordinator Tim Lewis and replaced him with Steve Spagnuolo, who would have a crucial impact on the Giants's 4-3 defense. Defensive end Michael Strahan held out for the entirety of training camp. Having previously been disillusioned with Tom Coughlin's coaching methods, he spent the offseason debating whether or not he would come back for the season, and decided that since he had already played for 14 seasons, he wouldn't have needed the training camp anyway. He eventually returned to the team mere weeks before the season started. Despite his training camp holdout and a hefty fine for not attending the camp, he was still elected as a team captain. Expectations, however, were still low as few predicted that the Giants would make the playoffs. Perception grew worse as Tiki Barber, now an analyst for NBC, began attacking his former team, particularly Tom Coughlin and especially Eli Manning. Barber attacked Manning not only as a non-productive quarterback, but declared that his leadership skills were "almost comical." When asked about Barber's comments, Manning noted that he didn't have to take the comments seriously, considering that Barber announced his intentions to leave the team in the middle of the previous season. Giants free agents heading into the 2007 season Players whose contracts expire become free agents, and are classified (or "tagged") according to the players' collective bargaining agreement as restricted free agents (RFA), unrestricted free agents (UFA), or exclusive-rights free agents (ERFA). Players listed in green were retained by the team, while those in red were signed by another franchise. Restricted free agents are indicated by the round in which the player was originally drafted, as this determines qualifying offers and compensation. Draft class NOTES: :The Giants were awarded an additional seventh-round pick (#250 overall) as a compensatory selection. Training camp photos File:Eli Manning and QBs at 2007 Giants camp.jpg|Eli Manning and quarterbacks in training File:2007 NY Giants training camp - defensive players.jpg|Defensive players at 2007 camp, Albany File:Kevin Gilbride and Giants offense in 2007.jpg|Kevin Gilbride, Giants offense File:5 New York Giants players at 2007 training camp.jpg|#89 Kevin Boss, #69 Rich Seubert, #76 Chris Snee, #95 Adrian Awasom File:Gibril Wilson, Jeremy Shockey, and Fred Robbins at 2007 Giants training camp.jpg|Gibril Wilson, Jeremy Shockey and Fred Robbins File:Corey Webster, Barry Robertson, Rodney Burgess, Kawika Mitchell enter 2007 training camp.jpg|Corey Webster, Barry Robertson, Burgess and Mitchell ==Preseason==

Week 1: at Dallas Cowboys The Giants opened up their 2007 campaign with a 45–35 loss to the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium. For the second straight year, the Giants left Dallas with injuries to key starters including defensive end Osi Umenyiora, running back Brandon Jacobs, and quarterback Eli Manning. Before suffering a separated shoulder in the fourth quarter, Manning put on a stellar performance, completing 28 of 41 passes, for 312 yards, 4 touchdowns and just 1 interception. However, a horrid defensive performance overshadowed his play. The Giants got off to a fast start as Manning hit Plaxico Burress on a 60-yard touchdown pass off play action to open up the scoring. Burress and Manning would connect for 3 touchdowns on the night. After a Dallas took a 17–6 lead late in the half, Manning led the Giants on another drive, capped off to his second strike to Burress. Burress on the night caught 9 passes for 144 receiving yards. The Giants closed to within one at half's end following a Lawrence Tynes field goal after a Dallas fumble. Romo hit Terrell Owens on a 22-yard pass to give Dallas an 8-point lead. After the Giants cut the lead to five on another Tynes field goal, Dallas increased the margin to 12 as Romo capped off a quick four play drive with a 9-yard rush. The Cowboys appeared to put the game away with yet another Romo touchdown, once again finding Terrell Owens on a wide open catch and run, upping margin to 38–22. Eli and the Giants responded with two straight scoring drives. One finished with a dumpoff touchdown pass from Manning to reserve running back Derrick Ward and the other with Burress' third touchdown, cutting the Dallas lead to three. On a crucial 3rd and 7 late in the game, Romo hit backup wideout Sam Hurd for a 51-yard touchdown. With Manning injuring his shoulder, backup Jared Lorenzen finished the game for the Giants at quarterback late in the fourth quarter. Amani Toomer in his return from a knee injury, notched 9 catches for 91 yards while Burress gained 144. Justin Tuck and Gibril Wilson recorded the Giants' only sack and interception of the night respectively in the 45–35 loss as the Giants began the season at 0–1. It would be the only road loss for the Giants in the season. Week 2: vs. Green Bay Packers The Giants played their Week 2 home opener against the Green Bay Packers. After both teams missed a field goal to open the game, Green Bay got on the board first with a 6-yard run by rookie DeShawn Wynn. The Giants responded with a 26-yard scoring strike by Eli Manning to Plaxico Burress. The Giants got a Lawrence Tynes field goal and a 10–7 half time lead. In the second half, the Packers drove 51 yards to start the second half. Favre capped off the scoring drive with a 2-yard pass to Bubba Franks for a 14–10 lead the Packers would not relinquish. The Giants responded with another drive but once again, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, this one on Amani Toomer, hurt the Giants. Tynes kicked a second field goal, pulling the Giants to within one. The Packers went on to score 21 unanswered points. With the Giants staring at a 14-point deficit, and an 0–2 start to their season, the Giants came out strong to start the second half. In the third quarter, quarterback Eli Manning finally got the Giants offense turned around and running back Reuben Droughns would score on a 1-yard touchdown run to cut the lead in half. In the fourth quarter, Droughns rushed again for a 1-yard touchdown, while Manning completed a 33-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Plaxico Burress, giving the Giants a startling 24–17 lead against the home team. In the game's final moments, Washington found first and goal at the Giants 1-yard line. New York's defense then proceeded to make a goal-line stand as they stopped running back Ladell Betts from getting into the end zone on 4th down during the final seconds of the game. This goal line stand was known as the initial catalyst of the Giants' Super Bowl season. With the win, the Giants improved to 1–2. For the fourth consecutive year under Tom Coughlin, the Giants were 5–2 after seven games. Week 8: at Miami Dolphins (London) The Giants got their sixth straight win with a rain-soaked 13–10 victory over the winless Miami Dolphins in the first International Series game, held at England's Wembley Stadium. Persistent rain throughout the day had soaked the field and hurt both teams on offense as the field was torn up for most of the afternoon, but the Giants survived to get to 6–2 on the season as they headed for their bye week. After a missed Miami field goal on the opening drive of the game, the Giants traveled down the field, mixing up a combination of run and pass. Brandon Jacobs had a big day, running in the rain for 131 yards on 23 carries. Eli Manning, who threw for only 59 yards in the game, missed a wide open Amani Toomer in the end zone from inside the five, and the Giants had to settle for a 20-yard field goal from Lawrence Tynes. The Giants extended their lead to 10 with a 14-play, 69-yard drive in the second quarter. Jacobs and Reuben Droughns ran heavily on the drive and Eli Manning evaded the Dolphins defense, scrambling 10 yards for the game's first touchdown. After a Cleo Lemon fumble, which was recovered by Michael Strahan, the Giants stretched the lead to 13 at the half with a 41-yard kick from Tynes. In the third quarter, after recovering a Manning fumble, the Dolphins drove the ball down inside the Giants 5. However, a Lemon muffed snap forced the Dolphins to kick a field goal. The Giants continued to run well with Jacobs, and had a chance to tack on 3 more points but Tynes missed badly on a 29-yard field goal. In the final two minutes, the Dolphins scored their first touchdown with Ted Ginn Jr.'s first ever NFL touchdown reception. An attempted onside kick from Jay Feely skidded off the wet surface straight out of bounds, enabling the Giants to run out the clock for the win. For the day, Jacobs ran for his career-high 131 yards, and Fred Robbins and Kawika Mitchell recorded sacks. The Giants have won six in a row for the first time since 1994. Eli Manning scored the NFL's first regular season touchdown outside of North America. With their sixth-straight win, the Giants entered their bye week at 6–2. With the loss, New York fell to 6–3, and were swept by the Cowboys for the first time since 2003. They have not worn their red uniforms since. Week 17: vs. New England Patriots This marked the first time since Super Bowl I that an NFL game was simulcast by more than one television network. It was the first time an NFL game was carried on three national networks (CBS, NBC, and NFL Network) with an additional 1.2 million viewers seeing the game on local stations in New York and Massachusetts. The game was originally scheduled to be broadcast on NFL Network only, but Roger Goodell allowed CBS and NBC to broadcast with NFL Network it due to the Patriots being 15–0 and needing just one more win to become the first team to go 16–0 in the regular season. There was disagreement surrounding head coach Tom Coughlin's decision to play all his starters. Some of them played injured, notably Plaxico Burress who had an ankle injury and missed most of practice during the end of the season and the Giants postseason run. A Giants win would have no effect in the playoffs the following Sunday, as the Giants had earned the #5 seed as a wildcard and Dallas had won the division with the best record in the NFC. By playing his starters, he risked losing additional players on an already banged up roster playing against a heavily favored Patriots team, which was playing for the history books to go undefeated in the regular season. Still, the Giants were the final team to have a chance to end the Patriots' shot at a perfect season, and a victory would be an impressive display for pride and momentum. The Patriots set numerous offensive records while becoming the first ever 16–0 team in the regular season in a raucous and hostile Giants Stadium. Tom Brady set a single season record for touchdown passes, Randy Moss set a record for touchdown receptions, and the Patriots as a whole set a record for most points scored. Despite losing 38–35, the Giants played well and impressed critics in the defeat. Eli Manning played well, completing 22 of 32 passes for 251 yards while throwing 4 touchdowns and 1 interception, the lone interception of the game. The Giants led 28–16 in the third quarter, the Patriots' largest deficit this season. Also, Brandon Jacobs reached 1,000 yards rushing after gaining 67 yards on the ground on 15 carries. With the loss, the Giants ended the regular season at 10–6, with a road playoff game set on January 6 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The game became in retrospect a preview of Super Bowl XLII. In the end, 15.7 million viewers watched the game on CBS, 13.2 million on NBC, 4.5 million on the NFL Network, and 1.2 million on New York, Boston and Manchester, New Hampshire television stations. The game was the most watched program on television since the 2007 Academy Awards and the most watched regular season NFL game in more than 12 years. In addition to NFL Network, CBS, and NBC, the game also aired on the local stations that were originally given exclusive simulcasting rights, including WCVB-TV in Boston, WMUR-TV in Manchester, New Hampshire, and WWOR-TV in New York City. ==Playoffs==

NFC Wild Card Game: at (4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Giants ended their postseason skid with a 24–14 victory over the #4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Eli Manning won his first career playoff game and Tom Coughlin won his first playoff game with the Giants. The Giants got off to a rough start, at the end of the first quarter they trailed 7–0 and had gained only −2 yards on offense. But the Giants responded with a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 14–7 lead heading into halftime. At the start of the second half, Micheal Spurlock of the Bucs fumbled the kickoff return, which was recovered by Corey Webster. The Giants were able to get a field goal off of the ensuing drive, extending their lead to 17–7. Later in the quarter, Webster intercepted a pass from Jeff Garcia in the end zone. In the fourth quarter, Manning threw a touchdown pass to Amani Toomer for a 24–7 lead. Garcia would lead the Bucs down the field on their next possession for a touchdown, but the damage had been done as the Bucs lost the game 24–14 after Garcia threw another interception late in the fourth quarter. Manning's final stat line was impressive: 20 of 27 for 185 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. With the win, the Giants improved their overall record to 11–6. NFC Championship Game: at (2) Green Bay Packers After their big win over the Dallas Cowboys, the Giants traveled to Lambeau Field to face the second-seeded Green Bay Packers on a freezing night. With a gametime temperature of -1 degree and a -23 degree windchill, it was the third-coldest NFL game in terms of windchill, behind the 1967 Ice Bowl between the Cowboys and the Packers and the January 1982 Freezer Bowl between the Chargers and the Bengals (which holds the record with a -59 degree windchill). While the Giants were steadily gaining more respect throughout the league after their upset of the Cowboys, most analysts and pundits predicted the Packers to win and represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. The Packers won the toss and received the opening kickoff, but after two Brett Favre completions, the Packers failed to move the ball further and punted. The Giants offense opened the game with running back Brandon Jacobs plowing into cornerback Charles Woodson on a five-yard run. With the help of three receptions by receiver Plaxico Burress, the Giants entered the red zone when they survived a potential turnover. While being held by a lineman on a third-down play, Eli Manning threw the ball straight to lineman Cullen Jenkins, but he dropped the potential interception, and instead the Giants got on the board first with kicker Lawrence Tynes getting a 29-yard field goal. The Giants kept the ball for most of the 1st quarter, leading 3–0 at the end of the quarter. In the 2nd quarter, the Packers defense shut the Giants' passing game down after two more completions to Plaxico Burress, so the Giants settled for another Tynes field goal at 11:41 left in the half. The Giants led 6–0, and appeared to be in good position for their next drive when Koren Robinson muffed the ensuing kickoff and fell on it at the Packers's 10-yard line. However, on the first play of the Packers' next drive, Brett Favre pump-faked, then threw a 90-yard TD pass to Donald Driver, who had beaten blown coverage by cornerback Corey Webster before outrunning safety Gibril Wilson down the right sideline, and the Packers led 7–6. The teams then exchanged punts before the Packers received great field position at the Giants's 47-yard line. The Packers advanced into the red zone and faced a 3rd and 8 from the Giants 19-yard line. Favre found backup running back Brandon Jackson in the flat with lineman Jason Spitz out in front to block, but somehow, middle linebacker Antonio Pierce grabbed hold of Jackson to prevent him from advancing before Dave Tollefson could help him make the tackle. Green Bay settled for kicker Mason Crosby making a 36-yard field goal to give the Packers a 10–6 lead with 1:34 left in the half. On the Giants's next drive, Manning found Burress deep for a 32-yard pass on his 7th reception of the day, but an A. J. Hawk sack on fourth down prevented the Giants from scoring. The Packers led 10–6 at the half. The Giants got the ball first in the 3rd quarter, and had a successful drive that ended with a Brandon Jacobs 1-yard TD run. The Giants led 13–10. This drive nearly ended with an interception with Al Harris intercepting another Eli Manning pass intended for Burress, but he committed pass interference to make the interception, so the play was nullified. In the next Packers drive, after a Sam Madison penalty, Brett Favre threw a 12-yard TD pass to tight end Donald Lee. The Packers led 17–13. The Giants responded in their next drive by driving to the four-yard line after a 23-yard reception by Amani Toomer (which was challenged by Green Bay and upheld). From the Packers's 4-yard line, Manning then handed off to Ahmad Bradshaw, who went off tackle right but got caught in a stalemate at the one-yard line. In a heads-up play, right tackle Kareem McKenzie grabbed Bradshaw and dragged him into the end zone with him, resulting in a touchdown. The Giants led 20–17 with 2:12 left in the 3rd quarter. For the remainder of regulation, the game would be defined by potentially crushing mistakes by the Giants that prevented them from entirely capitalizing on the Packers's failures to penetrate the Giants defense. On the next drive, Brett Favre avoided the Giants pass rush and threw an interception to R. W. McQuarters, but McQuarters never went down and was fumbled upon being tackled, with the loose ball bouncing straight to offensive lineman Mark Tauscher at the 19-yard line. The Giants defense held, and with 11:46 left in the game, Packers kicker Mason Crosby hit a 37-yard field goal to tie the game at 20–20. On the Giants' next drive, after not converting for a 1st down, the Giants were at 4th and 5. The Giants failed to convert, however a Packers penalty gave the Giants a 1st down. the Giants advanced to the Packers's 28-yard line when Eli Manning went for the touchdown to Plaxico Burress, when Al Harris finally made a play and broke up the pass. The Giants then went for a field goal, but with 6:49 left in the game, Lawrence Tynes missed a 43-yard field goal attempt. The Packers's next two drives went three-and-out before they punted to the Giants with 2:30 left. Packers punter Jon Ryan's next punt went only 31 yards to the Packers's 48-yard line, but R. W. McQuarters fumbled the punt return, with Domenik Hixon saving a turnover by recovering the ball at the 48-yard line. On the next play, Ahmad Bradshaw broke through the Packers's defense for what appeared to be a 48-yard touchdown run, but the play was nullified due to a holding penalty. Undaunted, Manning found Steve Smith for completions of 14 and 11 yards before the Giants killed time for Lawrence Tynes to attempt a game-winning 36-yard field goal. On the last play of regulation, however, Giants long snapper Jay Alford had a low snap, and Tynes shanked the kick wide left on an attempt that was not even close to the uprights. The Giants and Packers went into overtime with the game tied at 20–20. The Packers won the coin toss and got the ball first. For much of the game, cornerback Corey Webster had been playing with a massive chip on his shoulder. While the Giants coaches had tried to encourage him and assure him that he would get another opportunity, he remained angry over his poor play resulting in Brett Favre's 90-yard touchdown to Donald Driver and wanted to make a big play to make up for it. He finally got an opportunity on the second play of overtime. The Packers called an out pattern play for Driver, where Donald Lee would shift to fullback and attempt to deceive the Giants defense into believing that he would be a lead blocker on a running play (they had previously called this play twice before in the game, with the play being successful both times). Favre dropped back, and in a bonehead play that helped to define his legacy as a "gunslinger," threw the ball straight towards Webster, who was in position against Driver. Webster took advantage of his long-awaited opportunity and intercepted the pass, and went five yards before Driver dragged him down, which gave the Giants the ball in Packer territory. The Giants failed to convert on 3rd down and decided to go for the field goal. Although he had missed his previous two attempts, Tynes, like Webster before him, also wanted another opportunity and sprinted straight onto the field for a 47-yard attempt with 12:29 left in OT. Before Tynes's attempt, no kicker had made a field goal of over 40 yards with the game time temperature below freezing. Tynes's attempt initially went wide of the right goalpost, but the wind hooked it left and the kick went just over the crossbar for the game-winning field goal, and the Giants became the 2007 NFC Champions. The Giants beat the Packers, 23–20. The Giants victory was the first championship win over the Packers since 1938. The Packers have a 4–2 record over the Giants in NFL/NFC Championship series. The win also marked the Giants' 10th straight road win and their 4th straight NFC Championship victory. For the Giants, Eli Manning went 21–40 for 251 yards. Although he didn't throw a touchdown, he avoided an interception for the third straight playoff game. It was generally agreed by critics after the game that he outplayed Favre, making another instance where he outplayed a quarterback considered far superior to him in the lead-up to the contest. Brandon Jacobs added 67 yards on 21 carries with a touchdown, while Ahmad Bradshaw ran 16 times for 63 yards and a touchdown. Plaxico Burress caught 11 passes for 151 yards. Along with his 200+ yard receiving performance in 2002 against the Falcons while a member of the Steelers, it is considered by many to be his single greatest game as a receiver. While the Giants defense didn't have a sack in this contest, they held the Packers to just 28 yards rushing. Former Giants running back Ryan Grant, who had run for 201 yards against the Seahawks the previous week, ran for just 29 yards against his former team. The game was Brett Favre's final game as a Green Bay Packer, with whom he played with for 16 seasons. He appeared to retire for good during the offseason, but instead announced just before the season started that he wanted to play again. Because the Packers spent the offseason after the retirement announcement preparing Aaron Rodgers for the starting job, Favre became expendable and was traded to the Jets. During the game, Giants coach Tom Coughlin caught frostbite. His increasingly red face due to the freezing conditions and frostbite received considerable attention from TV cameras during the game. The New York Giants were headed to Super Bowl XLII to face the 2007 AFC Champions New England Patriots who were undefeated at 18–0. on February 3, 2008. Super Bowl XLII: vs. (A1) New England Patriots Two weeks after their NFC Championship victory over the Packers, the Giants flew to the University of Phoenix Stadium for Super Bowl XLII against the undefeated AFC Champions, the New England Patriots, in a rematch of Week 17. That game had ended with the Patriots winning a very close game after coming back, and would prove to be a sign of things to come, but with a reverse ending. After calling tails to win the coin toss, the Giants started the game with the longest opening drive in Super Bowl history, a 16-play, 77-yard march that consumed 9 minutes, 59 seconds and featured four third-down conversions, the most ever on a Super Bowl opening drive. But New England halted the drive at their own 14-yard line, where New York delivered the first punch with kicker Lawrence Tynes nailing a 32-yard field goal for the only score of the period. In the second quarter, the Patriots responded with RB Laurence Maroney getting a 1-yard TD run for the only score of the period. After a scoreless third quarter, the Giants regained the lead with QB Eli Manning completing a 5-yard TD pass to WR David Tyree. New England retook the lead with QB Tom Brady completing a 6-yard TD pass to WR Randy Moss. Afterwards, with only 2 minutes and 40 seconds left, Manning led his Giants from their own 17-yard line all the way to the Patriots' 13-yard line, featuring a 4th down conversion (a one-yard run by Brandon Jacobs on 4th and inches) and even Eli escaping a sure-fire sack & completing a 32-yard pass to Tyree, where he would hook up with WR Plaxico Burress for the game-winning TD pass. The defense after that didn't even allow a single yard, as Brady was sacked once and threw 3 incomplete passes, turning the ball over on downs. in honor of their Super Bowl victory on April 30, 2008. With the win, the Giants finished their championship season with an overall record of 14–6. They became the third team (after the 1993 Cowboys and 2001 Patriots) to win the Super Bowl after beginning the season 0–2 and were the first NFC Wild Card to win the Super Bowl. The victory also gave them their 11th-straight road win (an NFL record). Eli Manning was named the game's MVP after completing 19 of 34 passes for 255 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception; a majority of his offense came in the decisive fourth quarter, completing nine of 14 passes for 152 yards and both touchdowns. The defense had a stellar performance, sacking Patriots QB Tom Brady five times. Coach Tom Coughlin became the third oldest head coach to win the Super Bowl (61 years and 156 days). Punter Jeff Feagles was the oldest player to play in a Super Bowl, let alone win one. Eli and Peyton Manning became the first brother QBs to become back-to-back Super Bowl winners and Super Bowl MVPs. == Season facts ==

• The New York Giants lost to the Dallas Cowboys (twice), Green Bay Packers, and New England Patriots in the regular season but defeated them all in the post-season. In fact, the Minnesota Vikings are the only team that the Giants played during the 2007 season that the Giants did not defeat at least once (The Vikings did not make the playoffs and defeated the Giants in their only meeting during the regular season) • Of the New York Giants 10 victories the combined record of all teams were 60–100 (.375). • Of the New York Giants 10 victories 7 games were against teams below .500 that had a combined record of 35–77 (.313). • Of the New York Giants 10 victories 3 games were against teams above .500 that had a combined record of 25–23 (.521). • Of the New York Giants 6 losses the combined record of all teams were 51–29 (.638). • Of the New York Giants 4 post-season victories the combined record of all opponents (including playoffs) were 54–13 (.806). • The New York Giants combined regular season opponents records were 102–106 (.490). • The New York Giants total regular and post-season opponents (TB 9–7, playoffs only: GB 1–0 & NE 2–0) records were 114–113 (.502). • Peyton and Eli Manning are the first brothers to be named MVP of the Super Bowl, at the same position, and in back-to-back years. • The New York Giants trailed in all four post-season games, coming back to win all four. The Giants trailed in the fourth quarter in 2 out of the 4 games. • The Giants NFC Championship victory was their first win over the Packers in the playoffs since 1938. The Packers have a 4–2 record over the Giants in NFL/NFC Championship series. • The New York Giants played the New England Patriots at the end of the pre-season, regular season and post-season (Super Bowl XLII) during the 2007 season. This marks the third time that the Giants played a team that they would later face in the Super Bowl. Their record is 1–2 against these opponents in the regular season and 3–0 in the Super Bowl. • Ended the season with an 11-game road winning streak including playoffs. (the Week 8 game in London vs. the Dolphins and Super Bowl XLII in Arizona were both considered "away" games for the Giants. The Week 5 game vs. the Jets in Giants Stadium was considered a "home" game for the Giants.) • Prevented the Patriots from achieving what would have been the second undefeated season, and the first 19–0 season. (The first, and to date the only, was the 1972 Miami Dolphins, although they finished 17–0) • Had only one starting Pro Bowler (Osi Umenyiora), fewest among Super Bowl champs. • All of their post-season games were announced by Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, due to each game being the perceived "marquee matchup" for Fox's coverage slate, along with the network holding broadcast rights for Super Bowl XLII. • The only time the Giants and the Buccaneers met in the 2007 season was in the postseason. == Super Bowl XLII DVD ==

The official DVD of Super Bowl XLII was released on February 26, 2008. The DVD covered the entire 2007 New York Giants season, as well as special features including the NFL Network postgame commentary, the halftime show in its entirety, the Media Day highlights, the NFC Divisional Game and NFC Championship Game highlights, profiles on Mathias Kiwanuka and Tom Coughlin, and features on Eli Manning and Michael Strahan. == Stomp You Out ==

"Stomp You Out" was the unofficial team motto of the 2007 New York Giants - especially their defense, which led the NFL with 52 sacks that season. It was started and perpetuated by Michael Strahan, saying he wanted to stomp out all of his opponents. During their playoff run, a relatively unknown motto was catapulted to national exposure as the Giants kept winning. The phrase remains a rallying cry for Giants fans to this day, much to the chagrin of their opponents, especially the Dallas Cowboys and the New England Patriots. At Strahan's 2014 Hall of Fame induction speech, he said, "Not only did we win the game [Super Bowl XLII], but we stomped them out!" much to the delight of Giants fans and players present. ==See also==