The Giants lost two games to start the season and played ugly football in the middle of the season, but they capped a stunning turnaround at the end of the season with a win in Green Bay last night, and what would have seemed unthinkable a month ago, can now be said: The Giants are going to the Super Bowl.

These Giants have been written off so many times this season that it was hard to believe they would get not one, not two, but three chances at a game-winning field goal. But they did, and after Lawrence Tynes missed potential game-winners twice in the last seven minutes of the fourth quarter, he booted it through the uprights in overtime. That field goal capped a stirring 23–20 victory on the Frozen Tundra, meaning the Giants can now get ready for a trip to the much more comfortable confines of Glendale, Ariz.

No matter where they travel, the Giants have been nothing short of amazing on the road. Since losing at Dallas in the first week of the regular season, the Giants have now won 10 straight road games, including three in the playoffs. Even the Giants’ Super Bowl opponents, the mighty New England Patriots, haven’t won that many in a row away from home.

The elements were part of the game from the very beginning, when wind blew the ball off the tee just before the opening kickoff. Temperatures were below zero at kickoff, 45 minutes after sundown, and got colder as the night went on. It was the third-coldest game in NFL history, behind only the 1967 Ice Bowl, when the Dallas Cowboys visited Green Bay, and the 1981 AFC Championship in Cincinnati.

Wide receiver Plaxico Burress has made no secret that he prefers warm weather, but he had a big day, routinely getting the better of his individual matchup with Packers cornerback Al Harris. He also showed some serious toughness, running crisp routes despite playing on an injured ankle. That toughness was especially evident when he caught a pass over the middle on a third-and-3 and somehow managed to hold on after Packers safety Atari Bigby drilled him with a vicious hit. Burress finished the game with 11 catches for 154 yards, and it was fitting that Burress — their best player all season — was the best player on the field the day they earned a spot in the Super Bowl.

But Burress wasn’t the only Giant who took the weather in stride. The Giants’ entire offensive line wore short sleeves, their arms covered only by elbow pads; center Shaun O’Hara said last week that the entire unit would eschew long sleeves as a symbolic gesture to show that they were tough enough to brave the cold. Michael Strahan was one of several Giants who wore long sleeves yesterday; he spent much of last week ribbing teammates who think bare arms in cold weather make them look tough. Burress and the other receivers also wore long sleeves, as did quarterback Eli Manning, who added a glove on his non-throwing hand for the first time in his career.

The Giants came out hot, dominating the game’s first 18 minutes, but they had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns and had a 6–0 lead early in the second quarter. That’s when the Giants’ secondary had a huge coverage breakdown and Brett Favre hit Donald Driver with a short pass that turned into a 90-yard touchdown, giving the Packers a 7–6 lead. Driver’s next catch, a diving 20-yard grab over the middle, wasn’t quite as costly to the Giants, but it did set up a Green Bay field goal that extended the lead to 10–6. That was the score at halftime, when the importance of the Giants’ two breakdowns in covering Driver was apparent in the fact that Favre’s three passes to Driver in the first half gained 110 yards, while his 15 passes to other receivers gained 53 yards.

But the Giants played well in the second half, taking the lead, then losing it, then taking it back again. Then came the wackiest play of these playoffs, when the Giants’ defensive line collapsed the pocket and pressured Favre, forcing him to roll out and heave the ball 25 yards downfield, where R.W. McQuarters intercepted it. But McQuarters fumbled on the return and Packers tackle Mark Tauscher recovered, setting the Packers up at the Giants’ 19-yard line, where a field goal made the score 20–20.

Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes had a chance to take the lead back but missed a 43-yard field goal with 6:53 remaining. The Packers and Giants then punted the ball back and forth to each other, with the Giants getting the ball back for one last chance with 2:15 remaining. On the Giants’ first play of the next possession, Ahmad Bradshaw ran up the middle 48 yards into the end zone, but a holding penalty on Chris Snee negated what looked like the game-winning touchdown. But the Giants weren’t deterred, and Manning led the team down the field with the help of a couple of big catches from Steve Smith. That put Tynes in position for a game-winning 36-yard field goal attempt, which he missed as time expired after a high snap from Jay Alford.

That sent the game into overtime, where the Packers received the kickoff. But Giants cornerback Corey Webster intercepted Brett Favre on the second play of the extra session, and although the Giants’ offense couldn’t move the ball after that, Tynes hit a 47-yard field goal to send the Giants home happy.

Next up for the Giants is Super Bowl XLII. Although the Patriots will be heavily favored, there is little doubt that the Giants gained a measure of confidence when they played a competitive game against New England in the regular-season finale. The Giants ultimately lost that game, 38–35, but they showed that their offense can move the ball effectively and put points on the board against the Patriots’ defense. The Giants’ offensive and defensive lines also showed that they could win the line of scrimmage against New England. They’ll need to do that again to have any chance of winning the Super Bowl.

The only thing the Giants didn’t show was an ability to stop the Patriots’ passing attack. The first time they played New England, the Giants’ defense allowed Tom Brady to throw for 356 yards with no interceptions. The defense has to do better than that to beat Brady in the Super Bowl, and it also has to do better than it did yesterday against the Packers’ wide receivers. If Driver can make big plays against the Giants’ secondary, Patriots receiver Randy Moss can, too.

The Patriots enter the Super Bowl as the favorites, and the Giants enter as the scrappy underdogs. But with a third straight playoff upset behind them and the Super Bowl ahead of them, these Giants look ready to take on anyone.

Mr. Smith is a writer for
FootballOutsiders.com.