Belichick’s Plan Backfired in Super Bowl XLVI
With 3:46 remaining in Super Bowl XLVI, the New York Giants trailed the New England Patriots 17-15 and were starting a drive from their own 12-yard line. Quarterback Eli Manning dropped back and threw a high arching pass down the left sideline. Wide Receiver Mario Manningham brought the ball in from over his right shoulder between two Patriots defenders and pulled down the ball barely touching in bounds with both feet. It’s a catch that will be replayed for years.
On Wednesday night, the NFL Network aired their Super Bowl edition of the show “Sound FX” which added more intrigue to that famous play. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick wanted the ball to go to Manningham. “I know we’re right on them; it’s tight.” Belichick said, “But those are still the guys. Make them go to Manningham.” The Giants did go to Manningham and his remarkable 38-yard reception put the Giants on the 50-yard line with plenty of time to drive down and score to take the lead. The play had to be reviewed by officials and cameras caught a stunned Patriots quarterback Tom Brady uttering “He caught it” from the New England sideline.
It’s not a surprise that the Patriots wanted Manningham to make the play. Victor Cruz this season tallied 82 receptions for 1,536 yards and Hakeem Nicks had 76 receptions for 1,192 yards. In comparison, Manningham only had 39 catches this season for 523 yards and was hampered by some injuries. Judging by the numbers, Belichick made the right decision.
Later in the drive, with the Giants on the New England six yard line and 1:04 remaining in the game, the Patriots let Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw run right up the middle and score so the Patriots offense would get the ball with time remaining. Bradshaw, apparently unsure of whether drop on the one yard line or score, stopped on the one and fell backwards into the end zone. Wednesday night’s program showed that not even all of the Patriots knew what was going to happen. Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo told his teammates, “We’ve got to let ‘em score.” Defensive tackle Vince Wilfork agreed saying, “Yeah, yeah, let ‘em score.” That decision wasn’t all that obvious on the Patriots sideline as Brady was heard saying “They’re not going to score.” Sure enough, the defense allowed Bradshaw in the end zone and the Giants took a 21-17 lead with 57 seconds remaining in the game.
After a missed two-point conversion by the Giants, the Patriots started with the ball on their own 20-yard line. After two incomplete passes by Brady to Deion Branch and Aaron Hernandez Brady was sacked. The two following completed passes were too little too late and the Patriots ran out of time with the final hail mary falling just out of the reach of tight end Rob Gronkowski.
Belichick didn’t necessarily make the wrong decision in wanting the ball to be thrown to Manningham. Judging by the numbers, it was the best option for New England. But this shows once again that coaching is not an exact science and that sometimes the right decisions aren’t the successful ones.
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