Plaxico Burress recalls 'beautiful moment' vs. Pats
It has been nearly four years since Jets wide receiver Plaxico Burress caught the winning 14-yard touchdown pass from Giants quarterback Eli Manning to beat the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, but he had no trouble recalling all the details in a conference call with New England-area media this afternoon.
"It's something you dream of as a child, and to do it against a team that probably was the best in history offensively was great," Burress said of the 2007 Patriots, who were 18-0 until Burress' catch hung a 17-14 defeat on them. "It was a defining moment for me and for a lot of guys. It was a beautiful moment…It's part of me, part of history. To me, it was the greatest Super Bowl ever played."
Burress said he hasn't played at New England for about 10 years and is looking forward to the return trip with the jets this Sunday. "I expect to get booed by the fans," he said, "but it's going to be fun."
Pressed for more details about the catch that broke New England hearts, Burress said the Giants ran the same play twice earlier in the game, and Manning told him in the huddle that the ball was coming to him if they got single coverage. "I said to myself, there was no way they were going to single-cover me at that time in the game," said Burress.
But when he got to the line of scrimmage, he was alone on the left side against cornerback Ellis Hobbs. "I knew exactly what I was going to do, and [Hobbs] did exactly what I saw him do on tape," Burress said. "I was very surprised for them to give me that coverage, but 'Thank you.'"
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