Super Bowl XLII

"2008 Super Bowl" redirects here. For the Super Bowl that was played at the completion of the 2008 season, see Super Bowl XLIII.

Super Bowl XLII
DateFebruary 3, 2008 (2008-02-03)
StadiumUniversity of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona[1]
MVPEli Manning, quarterback[2]
FavoritePatriots by 12[3][4]
RefereeMike Carey[5]
Attendance71,101[6]
Ceremonies
National anthemJordin Sparks
Coin tossRonnie Lott, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, along with Bill Walsh's children, Craig and Elizabeth
Halftime showTom Petty and the Heartbreakers
TV in the United States
NetworkFox
AnnouncersJoe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver and Chris Myers[7]
Nielsen ratings43.1
(est. 97.5 million viewers)[8]
Market share65 (national)
81 (Boston)
67 (New York)[8]
Cost of 30-second commercial$2.7 million[9]
Radio in the United States
NetworkWestwood One
AnnouncersMarv Albert, Boomer Esiason, John Dockery and Kevin Kiley

Super Bowl XLII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 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.[10] 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 North American sports,[11][12][13] as well as one of the greatest Super Bowl games ever.[14][15][16]

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.[17][18] 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.[19][20] 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.[21]

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 with two touchdowns and 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,[22] while Tyree's catch was ranked third on NFL.com's 100 Greatest Plays.[23] Many other media outlets rank Super Bowl XLII as the greatest Super Bowl ever.[24][25][26][27][28] Many sports websites consider it one of the most iconic sports moments of the 2000s.[29][30][31][32][33][34]

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.[8]

  1. ^ "Phoenix Super Bowl Events Map – Where Are the Super Bowl Parties in Phoenix". Phoenix.about.com. September 7, 2012. Archived from the original on November 19, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
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  5. ^ "Carey to be first black referee in Super Bowl" (Press release). National Football League. Associated Press. January 18, 2008. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  6. ^ "NFL sets attendance record in 2007". NFL.com. National Football League. March 31, 2008. Retrieved March 10, 2018. A total of 4,119,278 tickets were sold for 65 preseason games for an average of 63,374. Twelve postseason games produced a sale of 792,019, including 71,101 for Super Bowl XLII
  7. ^ "FOX Sports rolls out red carpet for Super Bowl XLII pregame show". Fox Sports. January 24, 2008.
  8. ^ a b c Bauder, David (February 4, 2008). "Thrilling Giants-Patriots game makes Super Bowl the second most watched TV show ever". Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 12, 2010. Retrieved February 4, 2008.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference ad was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Battista, Judy (February 4, 2008). "Giants Stun Patriots in Super Bowl XLII". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  11. ^ "Greatest Upsets In Sports History". Sports Illustrated. June 24, 2013. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  12. ^ Layden, Tim (February 6, 2012). "17–14 Hindsight: The Giants' epic upset of the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII offers valuable lessons—for both teams—this time around". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  13. ^ Battista, Judy (February 4, 2008). "Giants Stun Patriots in Super Bowl XLII". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  14. ^ Harrison, Elliot (January 27, 2015). "Ranking the Super Bowls". National Football League. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
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  16. ^ Kostos, Nick (January 25, 2013). "The Top 10 Super Bowls in NFL History". Bleacher Report. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  17. ^ "The Greatest Drive in NFL History". Pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
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  19. ^ "Retired Giant David Tyree reflects on helmet catch, Eli Manning". Giants Wire. July 9, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
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  21. ^ Lapointe, Joe (February 4, 2008). "Manning Keeps Cool, and Keeps a Drive Alive". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  22. ^ "'NFL 100 Greatest' Games, No. 5: Giants end Pats' perfect season in Super Bowl XLII". NFL.com. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  23. ^ "NFL 100". NFL.com. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
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  25. ^ "Greatest Super Bowls: Number 1: Super Bowl XLII, Giants-Patriots". Mercurynews.com. January 29, 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  26. ^ Brinson, Will (February 7, 2021). "Ranking every Super Bowl, 54–1: Here's where we rank Chiefs' win over 49ers, as well as every other big game". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  27. ^ "Ranking 15 greatest endings in Super Bowl history: Giants deny Patriots from making history". CBSSports.com. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
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  33. ^ Depta, Laura. "Top 20 Best Sports Moments of the 2000s". Bleacher Report. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
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