It was supposedly the culmination of the perfect 2007

season for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots http://www.patriotslockerroom.com/authentic-tom-brady-jersey , and a fourth Super Bowl title since 2002.Few gave the New York Giants much of a chance in the NFL championship game on Feb. 3, 2008 in Glendale, Arizona, except the Men in Black who walked off their charter flight in Phoenix.Yeah, the Giants deplaned dressed in black as if going to a funeral. But it wasn't for them. They knew better. They nearly beat the Patriots going all out in what for them was a meaningless final game of the regular season, and it gave them confidence.Postseason wins over Tampa Bay, Dallas and Green Bay as a wild-card team fueled their belief. Then the Super Bowl game wasn't what anyone expected. The Giants' defense hounded Brady and shut down the league's historically dangerous offense. Eli Manning and company made just enough plays, even the unbelievable ones.For the first time in 42 Super Bowls, there were three fourth-quarter lead changes. Manning to David Tyree put New York ahead 10-7. Brady to Randy Moss with 2:42 left gave New England a 14-10 lead. Manning then led New York on a winning 83-yard drive highlighted by Tyree's miraculous "Helmet Catch" for 32 yards on a play Manning escaped pressure. It ended with Plaxico Burress catching a decisive 13-yard pass in the left corner of the end zone with 35 seconds remaining for a 21-17 win.The teams will meet again Thursday night at Gillette Stadium in what many thought would be another Manning-Brady showdown. That scenario ended two games into the season when coach Pat Shurmur benched his two-time Super Bowl MVP for rookie Daniel Jones, the sixth pick overall in the draft. Brady, age 42, will be there calling things for the Pats, who enter the game perfect, of course.Here's a look at how that denial of perfection affected each team in subsequent seasons:NEW YORKCoughlin and the Giants were in position to win another Super Bowl in the 2009 season, winning 11 of their first 12. The season turned when Burress shot himself in the thigh in a New York City nightclub on Nov. 29.It was the night before New York played Washington, a game Burress was going to miss with a hamstring injury. While they beat the Redskins, the Giants' offense was never the same. New York dropped four of its final five games, including a 23-11 loss to the Eagles in a division playoff game.The Giants missed the playoffs the next two years, including 2010 when they failed to make it with a 10-6 record. The fourth Super Bowl followed in 2011 when New York squeezed in the postseason with an 9-7 record and again beat the favored Patriots after two postseason road victories.Hard times followed. The Giants have only made the playoffs once since 2011. Coughlin was fired after the 2015 season. New coach Ben McAdoo got New York to the playoffs in '16 but it lost to Green Bay in the wild-card game after Odell Beckham Jr. and the receivers took an ill-advised trip to Florida for a boat ride.McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese were fired during a 3-13 season in 2017 just after Manning was benched for Geno Smith late in the season. Current general manager Dave Gettleman and coach Pat Shurmur have cleaned house and are rebuilding.NEW ENGLANDFollowing the loss to the Giants, the Patriots lost Brady in the '08 season opener to a knee injury. They still went 11-5, missing the playoffs on a couple of tiebreakers. Since, Brady and Bill Belichick have guided the Patriots to 10 straight AFC East titles. They have appeared in five more Super Bowls. They have played for the NFL title four of the past five years, winning three times.New England has played in nine Super Bowls since Brady became the starter in 2001 Brandon Bolden Jersey , winning six. Brady is showing no signs of slowing down, while the defense has been one of the league's best the past two seasons.The only enjoyment for Patriots haters is the scandals: "Spygate," ''Deflategate" and owner Robert Kraft was charged with two counts of solicitation of prostitution in Florida.HISTORYThe teams have played 12 times, with eight of the past nine decided by four points or fewer.MEMORABLE GAMES2011: The Super Bowl in Indianapolis, played in February 2012. Same story as the first title game. The defense made things miserable for Brady. There was another late miracle catch and the Giants got their second Super Bowl title under Coughlin and fourth in franchise history. Brady gave New England a 17-9 lead with TD passes to Danny Woodhead and the late Aaron Hernandez. Lawrence Tynes kicked two field goals to close gap to 17-15. Manning led a late nine-play, 88-yard touchdown drive. Mario Manningham made a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch in front of the Patriots bench and kept his feet inbounds. Ahmad Bradshaw scored on 6-yard run with 57 seconds left in the 21-17 win. The defense knocked down Brady's desperation pass on the final play.2007: The first meeting to finish out the 2007 regular-season schedule.The Patriots looked to finish off the first 16-0 regular season in NFL history and the Giants nearly ruined it, building a 28-16 lead in the third quarter on Manning's third of four TD passes. Laurence Maroney ran for two TDs and Brady had a go-ahead tally with his 50th TD pass of the season, a 65-yarder to Randy Moss. Manning hit Burress to close the gap to 38-35 with 1:04 to play but Mike Vrabel recovered the onside kick to ice it.2011: Like '07, the teams also met in the regular season. The Giants denied the Patriots another form of perfection. Manning threw two touchdowns in the final 3:03, with a 1-yard winner to tight end Jake Ballard with 15 seconds left. The 24-20 final score on Nov. 6 in Gillette Stadium ended the Patriots' 20-game regular-season home winning streak. Brady and New England had taken the lead with a 14-yard TD pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski with 1:36 left.1990: The Giants closed out a 13-3 regular season with Jeff Hostetler again starting for the injured Phil Simms. He threw a touchdown pass to Dave Meggett, and Matt Bahr kicked two field goals for a 13-10 halftime lead. There was no second-half scoring. The Patriots finished 1-15, losing their final 14. The Giants beat Buffalo 20-19 in the (wide right) Super Bowl. Coach Bill Parcells resigned after winning his second title. Ray Handley replaced him.1996: Parcells returned to Giants Stadium on Dec. 31 as Patriots coach. New York took a 22-0 halftime lead, with the last points on Jason Sehorn's interception return. The Patriots scored the final 23, with Drew Bledsoe throwing a 13-yard fourth-down pass to Ben Coates with 1:23 to play. It would be Dan Reeves' final game as Giants coach. New England defeated Coughlin's Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC championship game. Green Bay won the Super Bowl 35-21. ATLANTA (AP) — In the past three NFL seasons alone, Brandin Cooks has caught passes from Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Jared Goff while playing for Sean Payton, Bill Belichick and Sean McVay.“I guess I know how to pick ’em, right?” Cooks asked Tuesday with a laugh.Cooks has racked up 3,786 yards receiving and 21 total touchdowns in that three-season span, which will include six playoff games and two consecutive Super Bowls.He played for the Patriots in the big game last year, and he will play against them for the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. He is also the first player in NFL history to have three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons with three different teams.But there are asterisks on this incredible resume.Cooks was only able to accomplish these feats because he was traded before each of the past two seasons, changing teams twice before he turned 25 years old.Two elite NFL franchises — New Orleans and New England — decided they could do without the speedy Womens Dont'a Hightower Jersey , dependable receiver, giving him up for first-round picks.Although he has been asked about it almost daily during the Rams’ playoff run, Cooks insists he harbors no ill will against the Saints or the Patriots.The Rams’ postseason could have been a personal revenge tour, but Cooks says it means nothing to him that his two former teams are Los Angeles’ final two playoff opponents: The Rams beat New Orleans 26-23 in the NFC championship game, and they will face the Patriots in the Super Bowl.While Cooks claims he didn’t take it personally, he also acknowledges using the trades as motivation during his fourth consecutive 1,000-yard season and the subsequent playoff grind.“It’s fuel to the fire,” Cooks said. “I know that I can play this game at a high level, whether someone thinks it or not. For them to trade me, it’s part of the game, but it also gives me that motivation to keep going, too.”This Super Bowl is a particular opportunity for Cooks, who realizes how fortunate he is to return to football’s biggest stage for a second straight year. Cooks caught just one pass for the Patriots against Philadelphia last season before he was sidelined with a concussion, missing most of the biggest game of his life.“I would be lying if I said I didn’t think about it like all year, offseason and training camp,” Cooks said. “But now that I’m here, I’ve got that thought process out of my mind.”Cooks has avoided constant attempts to get him to compare the inner workings of the Patriots and Rams this week, deliberately giving simplistic, short answers such as: “They’re both great cultures. That’s the similarity.”But it’s clear he has found a home in his native California with the Rams, who have lavished praise on him ever since his arrival. They even signed him to a five-year, $80 million contract extension before he played a game in LA, and he rewarded them with a career-best 1,204 yards receiving.“I can promise you this: We’re not trading him http://www.patriotslockerroom.com/authentic-jonathan-jones-jersey ,” McVay said Tuesday.Cooks has showed his reciprocal devotion to the Rams in many ways: Just last week, he surprised team custodian Alfonso Garcia by paying for two tickets to the Super Bowl for Garcia and his 8-year-old son.The Patriots have had only good things to say about their former receiver even though Belichick kept him for only one season before making the trade to maximize his value, rather than signing him to the type of long-term contract New England has often avoided. The Pats used the Rams’ first-round pick on offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn, who tore his Achilles tendon in the preseason.Belichick, Brady and other Patriots praised Cooks’ work ethic and talent this week.“He was a great guy to have in the room, a hard-working teammate, and he’s a real playmaker,” New England receiver Chris Hogan said.Hogan said that although he was dazzled by Cooks’ speed, “when I’d see on film I was even with him or ahead of him, I made sure to point it out.”Even though he has impressive numbers for Los Angeles, Cooks is sold on McVay’s culture of individual sacrifice for team success. In fact, Cooks is getting some of his biggest praise for a strategic drop in New Orleans.On a third-down play with the Rams on the edge of long field-goal range in overtime, Goff threw a short backfield pass to Cooks with Saints defenders bearing down.Instead of catching it and probably taking a 4-yard loss on a play that McVay immediately regretted calling, Cooks intentionally dropped it. Shortly afterward, Greg Zuerlein made a 57-yard field goal to send the Rams to their first Super Bowl in 17 years.No matter what happens in his second shot at the Super Bowl, Cooks seems certain be a key component of Los Angeles’ offense next season along with Robert Woods and the injured Cooper Kupp, who formed one of the most potent receiver trios in the league when they were together this season. Cooks is also eager for another year to build chemistry with Goff.“To be put with a young quarterback that’s the same age as me, and to know you have the chance to be together for a long time, that’s a blessing,” Cooks said.