2007 NFC Championship:
January 20, 2007
New York Giants vs
Green Bay Packers
Lambeau Field, Green
Bay, WI
Weather: −1 °F (−18
°C), clear
The
New York Giants had been a force to be reckoned with during the 1980s, but
after the resignation of head coach, Bill Parcells, following the victory in
Super Bowl 25, the Giants were pretty much mired in mediocrity. Several playoff
appearances happened along the way, but other than the 2000 season in which the
team won the NFC Championship but lost Super Bowl 35 to the Baltimore Ravens,
there wasn’t much to speak of in terms of success.
The seeds of success for the
2007 season were sown prior to the 2004 season. The Giants hired head coach,
Tom Coughlin, and traded for number one draft pick, quarter back Eli Manning
immediately after Manning was drafted by the San Diego Chargers. Despite
guiding the Giants to the post season in 2005 and 2006, Manning still was not
generating the respect he deserved and was still being referred to as Peyton’s
little brother.
In 2007, the Giants finished at
10-6, made the playoffs as a wild card team and upset both the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers, 24-14 and the Dallas Cowboys, 21-17 to make it to the NFC
Championship.
The Green Bay Packers were
nearing the end of an era while at the same time beginning a new one. In his
second year as head coach, Mike McCarthy guided the Pack to a 13-3 record with
veteran, but aging, future Hall-of-Fame quarterback, Brett Favre. It was
speculated that this would be Favre’s last season with the Packers as highly-touted
first-round draft pick, Aaron Rodgers was waiting to take the reigns and lead
the Packer offense for years to come.
It was a frigid late afternoon
in Green Bay and the most iconic image of the game would be
Tom Coughlin’s face as it got redder and redder from the cold as the game wore
on, possibly the beginning stages of frost bite.
New York was on the scoreboard
first with a 29-yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes. That was the only scoring
play of the first quarter and Tynes extended the Giants’ lead to 6-0 when he
hit a 37-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
But the Packers took the lead
for the first time when Favre hit receiver, Donald Driver, on a 90-yard
touchdown pass. Green Bay was up 7-6, and extended the lead to 10-6 on a
36-yard field goal by Mason Crosby before the first half ended.
On their first possession of the
second half, the Giants drove 69 yards and retook the lead on a one-yard run by
Brandon Jacobs. However, the Packers scored on their next possession after an
excellent kick return gave them good field position. Favre threw his second TD
of the game, this time a 12-yard pass to Donald Lee and the score was 17-13 for
the Pack.
Then it was the Giants turn for
an excellent kick off return and after seven plays, running back Ahmad Bradshaw
ran the ball in from four yards out and the Giants were in front again, 20-17.
The game was tied early in the fourth quarter when Crosby kicked a field goal
from 37 yards away.
The Giants then controlled the
game for the rest of the quarter. However, despite moving the ball into field
goal range twice, Tynes missed his two attempts, the last one on the final play
of regulation. The game was going into overtime.
The Packers won the coin toss
and would take possession of the ball first in the extra period. On the second
play from scrimmage, Favre’s last pass as a Packer would be intercepted by
Giants’ cornerback, Corey Webster who returned the ball to the Green Bay
34-yard line. A few plays later, Tynes got his third chance to win the game.
This time, he hit a 47-yard field goal to give the Giants a 23-20 victory, the
NFC Championship and a berth in Super Bowl 42 to play the undefeated New
England Patriots. And we all know what happened in that game.
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