Eli Manning wins 2nd Super Bowl MVP award

INDIANAPOLIS — Eli Manning is elite, for sure. A king of comebacks, too. And far, far more than Peyton's little brother now.

Spot-on from beginning to end Sunday night, Eli Manning won his second NFL championship in a four-year span — and second Super Bowl MVP award — for leading the New York Giants to a 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots.

Manning went 30 for 40 for 296 yards, with one touchdown pass and zero interceptions. He opened the game by becoming the first quarterback to complete his first nine attempts in a Super Bowl. And he finished the job by directing the nine-play, 88-yard TD drive that put New York ahead with 57 seconds left.

"That was quite a drive that he was able to put together," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "He deserves all the credit in the world, because he really has put his team on his shoulders all year."

This late drive, so reminiscent of the way New York beat New England in the 2008 Super Bowl, started on the Giants' 12, with a little more than 3½ minutes left and the Patriots ahead 17-15. It closed with running back Ahmad Bradshaw easing into the end zone from 6 yards out. The Patriots decided not to contest the run, trying to save some time on the clock for a final drive — an audacious decision by Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

But New England couldn't get the ball back in the end zone, with Tom Brady's final heave from his 49 falling barely beyond the grasp of tight end Rob Gronkowski.

"We had this goal to finish, finish, finish, and win the fourth quarter," Coughlin said.

That's where Manning takes over.

He also was the MVP in 2008, when his scoring pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds left allowed New York to upset Brady and New England, ruining the Patriots' bid for a perfect season. Back then, Manning got a boost from David Tyree's Velcro-helmet grab on the key drive. This time, the key play was perhaps Mario Manningham's 38-yard, over-the-shoulder catch between two defenders along the sideline, which held up after the Patriots challenged it.

The Giants had trouble putting up points Sunday despite getting into New England's territory on every drive except a kneeldown at the end of the first half. But Manning kept at it.

"We just tried to be patient," said Manningham, who finished with five catches for 73 yards. "Got to be patient with this game. We knew big plays (were) going to come. We just had to take advantage of them."