Although they did not admit it, the New England Patriots sought revenge Sunday night in Super Bowl XLVI against the New York Giants after losing to them in both Super Bowl XLII four years ago and in Week 9 of the regular season this past year. Instead, the Patriots relived the same horror story.

The Giants made the big-time plays when they mattered. The Patriots did not. Giants quarterback Eli Manning drove his team down the field for a game-winning touchdown. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady did not.

On the final play of the game, Brady's Hail Mary pass was nearly caught in the end zone by tight end Rob Gronkowski. It would have been the greatest play in Super Bowl history and given the Patriots the win, but instead it hit the ground.

Giants 21. Patriots 17. Unbelievable.

"You share this with all the players, the coaches and all the people that did a tremendous job to get us here," Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said. "It's a marvelous feeling."

On the losing side, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick could do nothing but compliment his players.

"Can't fault the effort of any of our players," he said. "They played as hard as they could. We could have just played a bit better. It was obviously a very competitive football game."

The Giants dominated the first half of play, yet trailed 10-9 going into Madonna's halftime show.

After the Patriots marched down the field to score a touchdown on the first drive of the second half, the Giants had given up 17 consecutive points. Yet they never wavered. Their vaunted pass rush began to disrupt Brady and the Patriots' offense, halting Big Blue's offense for the rest of the game.

The Patriots' defense was criticized throughout the season for not stopping the opposing offense when it counted. Last night was their chance to right those who doubted them. The opportunity came, and they failed. Again.

New England certainly had its moments to capitalize on two Giants fumbles, but not one landed in the hands of a Patriots' player. The Patriots also committed the only turnover of the game, as Giants linebacker Chase Blackburn intercepted Brady's deep pass to Gronkowski. Blackburn was one-on-one with Gronkowski deep into Giants territory, but Blackburn out-leaped the six-foot-six tight end to make a game-changing play.

Giants wide receiver Mario Manningham will forever be known as the new David Tyree, famous for his helmet catch four years ago, after he made a spectacular 37-yard tip-toe catch on the Giants' final drive of the game with the Super Bowl on the line.

The catch moved the ball to midfield, where the Giants continued their offensive attack to score their second and final touchdown of the game.

Meanwhile, Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker, who led the league with 122 receptions in the regular season, missed the most important catch of his career with about four minutes left in the fourth quarter.

On second-and-11, Brady threw an over-the-shoulder pass to Welker that would have put the Patriots in the red zone. Welker had to jump and adjust his body, and yet, the pass fell right out from his hands.

He dropped it. He sulked with his head on the turf once the ball landed. He knew. Had Welker caught that pass, the Patriots would most likely be Super Bowl champions.

"It's a play I never drop. Most critical situation, and I let the team down," Welker said.

On the next play, Brady's pass to wide receiver Deion Branch, another one that could have been caught, was incomplete. The Patriots were forced to punt to the last quarterback they wanted to see with the ball, with just a few minutes remaining.

It is official: Eli Manning, who was named most valuable player of the game, is an elite quarterback after all. With two championships, Manning is quickly closing in on Brady's elite status.

"It's been a wild game, it's been a wild season, but we've got a great, tough bunch of guys that never quit and have faith in each other," Manning said after winning his second Super Bowl MVP. "I'm just proud of our team."

Big-time players were the name of the game, and the Giants' players made more big plays than the Patriots did Sunday night. It was euphoria for Giants fans and dismay for Patriots fans yet again. Unbelievable.

Different year, same story.