Does that surprise you? It probably shouldn’t
The New York Giants’ Super Bowl-winning teams of the 2000s are akin to the late, great comedian, Rodney Dangerfield. They don’t get any respect. At least, not championship-caliber respect.
In a post ranking the best 25 NFL teams of the 2000s, neither of the Eli Manning-led teams that pulled off historic upsets of the New England Patriots made the cut.
Bill Barnwell of ESPN actually left 12 of the 25 Super Bowl champions off his top 25 list. He said:
Obviously, winning pro football’s biggest prize is a valuable item to put on a résumé — I weighted things disproportionately in favor of teams that took home the Lombardi Trophy — but I’m considering what those teams did over the entire season, not just how their campaign ended.
Here is what Barnwell said about the 2007 Giants, who beat the previously 18-0 New England Patriots, the No. 1 team on Barnwell’s list:
The 2007 Giants produced what might have been the most memorable victory of the Super Bowl era, controlling the vaunted Patriots offense and coming up with David Tyree’s famous helmet catch to set up a championship-winning touchdown. Making a run through the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers on the NFC side of the bracket, the Giants waylaid history.
Of course, they also lost to those same Patriots during the regular season, where they were also swept by the Cowboys and lost to the Packers. They had a minus-nine turnover differential during the regular season, and while they played the Pats close in the last week, that followed an eight-game stretch in which Eli Manning completed 51.1% of his passes and turned the ball over twice as often (14 times) as he produced touchdowns (seven, with six through the air.) This team had a great defensive line, and it hit a new stride when it leaned into its young talent during the postseason, but one snap before the helmet catch, a would-be interception bounced off Asante Samuel’s hands. If he had caught that pass, nobody would even pretend this is a debate. The Giants deserve all the credit in the world for what they accomplished, but I wouldn’t like their chances against these teams over another 17-game season.
Actually, it is hard to argue with Barnwell on this one. The Giants were a second-place wild-card team no one expected to put together such a historic run. Eli Manning was a quarterback few truly believed in until he did what he did during that playoff run and made them believe.
Here is what Barnwell said about the 2011 team that again defeated New England:
The good news is that no fans will be mad at me for also leaving the 2011 Giants out of the top 25. Right? The 2011 version was actually outscored during the regular season, albeit while playing a tough schedule. The Giants were 7-7 in December and Manning was being unfavorably compared to fellow New York quarterback Mark Sanchez before the team rolled off wins over the Jets and the Cowboys to win the NFC East on the final day of the season.
The league’s 25th-ranked scoring defense improved massively during the playoffs, with the Giants holding the Falcons to a lone safety and then slowing down the 15-1 Packers in the divisional round. New York put up a great conference title game performance against the 49ers, who did nothing on offense and went 1-for-13 on third down one week after dropping 36 points on the Saints. The Giants then forced an early safety from Tom Brady and shut out the Patriots for the final 26 minutes of Super Bowl XLVI, eventually winning 21-17.
Was there a bit of fortune during their playoff run? Of course. Hakeem Nicks caught a Hail Mary to extend a lead against Green Bay on a day in which the Giants fell on all three Packers fumbles. In the NFC Championship Game, 49ers punt returner Kyle Williams muffed two punts, with one leading to a New York touchdown and the other setting up the game-winning field goal in overtime. Another fourth-quarter drop helped the Giants, this time coming on offense from Wes Welker in the Super Bowl. As with 2007, this was another team that was great in the postseason and closer to league average during the regular season. It’s tough to sneak in when there are so many teams that were good in both spots.
Again, hard to argue. The 2011 Giants were a veteran team that seemed to be on its last legs. The late-season surge to and through the playoffs turned out to be a last stand, one that no one had any right to expect.