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Giants' wide receiver Mario Manningham made a likely, game-saving catch late in the fourth quarter. |
Four years ago, it was David Tyree making the catch of a lifetime to help the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII in one of the most thrilling Super Bowl contests in recent memory.
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Manningham's catch will be
remembered for years to come. |
On Sunday night, it was Mario Manningham playing the role of ‘Super Mario’ in making a huge, likely, game-saving 38-yard catch that came with 3:39 left in the fourth quarter and the Giants facing a two-point deficit on their own 12 yard-line, trailing by two points.
Quarterback Eli Manning threading the needle between two defenders to find Manningham deep along the left sideline and complete a play that turned out to be the longest play in Super Bowl XLVI.
"I knew I had to freeze my feet when the ball touched my fingertips," Manningham said. "Wherever I was at when the ball hit my fingertips, I just froze my feet and fell. I knew I was either going to get hit or hit the ground. I knew something was going to happen, but I knew that I couldn't let that ball go."
Manningham didn’t let go of the ball and now, he and his improbable catch are both a part of NFL Super Bowl lore.
"Words can't explain this," Manningham said. "Thank God I had great footwork and thank God for Eli's arm."
After nailing both, the SU and ATS outcomes on Sunday’s Super Bowl showdown, yours truly finished the 2011 season on a perfectly-timed 6-0 'Philly cheesesteak-sized' roll to finish the postseason with an impressive 9-3 mark ATS (against the spread) – and put a ton of cash in my betting followers’ collective pockets.
