10 plays that keyed Giants' Super Bowl run
NFC CHAMPIONSHIP
at San Francisco
GIANTS 20, 49ERS 17
KEY PLAY: In overtime, Giants rookie Jacquian Williams reaches out and strips the ball away from punt returner Kyle Williams, forcing a fumble that Devin Thomas recovers at the 49ers' 24 to set up Lawrence Tynes' game-winning field goal.
WEEK 14
at Dallas
GIANTS 37, COWBOYS 34
KEY PLAY: Jason Pierre-Paul comes up the middle and deflects a 47-yard field-goal attempt by Dan Bailey as time expires in regulation, giving the Giants a comeback win and first place in the NFC East.
WEEK 16
at MetLife Stadium
GIANTS 29, JETS 14
KEY PLAY: On third-and-10 from the 1, Eli Manning hits Victor Cruz on a pass of 11 yards. He eludes Kyle Wilson and Antonio Cromartie and hurdles Eric Smith near midfield on his way to an electrifying 99-yard TD for a 10-7 lead.
WEEK 15
at MetLife Stadium
REDSKINS 23, GIANTS 10
KEY PLAY: It wasn't on the field but in the postgame locker room that Antrel Rolle sets the tone for the next month and a half by insisting that all of the Giants begin practicing and giving whatever they have each day.
WEEK 9
at New England
GIANTS 24, PATRIOTS 20
KEY PLAY: On third-and-10, Jake Ballard makes a sensational acrobatic catch down the seam for 38 yards to keep the game-winning drive alive. The Giants eventually score on Ballard's 1-yard TD catch to win it.
NFC DIVISIONAL
PLAYOFF
at Green Bay
GIANTS 37, PACKERS 20
KEY PLAY: The Giants could have just run out the clock to halftime or settled for a field goal, but Manning chucks a 37-yard pass into the end zone that Hakeem Nicks grabs, giving the Giants a 20-10 halftime lead.
WEEK 3
at Philadelphia
GIANTS 29, EAGLES 16
KEY PLAY: The first flash of what Cruz could become is evident when he catches a third-down pass from Manning on the sideline and turns it up the field for a 74-yard TD. His 28-yard TD in the fourth quarter gives the Giants the lead for good.
NFC WILD CARD
at MetLife Stadium
GIANTS 24, FALCONS 2
KEY PLAY: With the Giants holding a 10-2 lead, Jason Pierre-Paul and Chris Canty stuff a fourth-and-inches quarterback sneak by Matt Ryan in the third quarter. It is the second time in the game that the Giants stop a fourth-and-inches play.
WEEK 13
at MetLife Stadium
PACKERS 38, GIANTS 35
KEY PLAY: Chase Blackburn, who had been signed only that week, intercepts a pass by Aaron Rodgers. The Giants lose on a last-second field goal but prove they can play with the best team in the NFL, and Blackburn fills a big hole at middle linebacker.
WEEK 4
at Arizona
GIANTS 31, CARDINALS 27
KEY PLAY: Nicks catches the game-winning 29-yard TD in the same corner of the same end zone in the same stadium where Plaxico Burress won Super Bowl XLII. It is the first tangible comparison to the title run of 2007 -- but not the last.
