Perfection punched senseless

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Undefeated was punched in the mouth by unbelievable.

Immortality was dragged to the ground by impossible.

History was then kicked across the desert by hellacious, and today the football world is red-eyed and hoarse from soaking in its dust.

You want perfection? I’ll give you perfection.

The unbowed New York Giants came back in the final two minutes Sunday to whip the unbeaten New England Patriots, 17-14, in the Super Bowl.

With a winning touchdown pass caught by the Giant who had guaranteed the victory.

With an earlier third-down pass wrestled by a fifth-string Giant from a Patriot who was earlier suspended for using a banned substance.

On a drive engineered by the kid who tied for the league lead in interceptions.

And then, with time still on the clock and some of his players still on the field, the great Bill Belichick walked away.

Did you see that? Of all the eye-popping plays in what may be the most unlikely ending in Super Bowl history, Belichick’s “Sprint Quit” was among the best.

The smirk wiped from his lips, the smug drained from his face, the wholly disagreeable New England Patriots coach ran from the field with one second remaining, taking much of his team with him.

A few defenders remained to run the final play, and Junior Seau ran back on the field with class to participate, but the message was clear.

A team that began the season as football’s spies ended as football’s shirkers.

The best team in history? Their 18-0 record was out-slugged, outworked and outclassed into 18-1.

So the answer is, er, um, no way in hoodie.

“They were no Greek anything, they were no Godzillas, we just played them like men,” said Giants receiver David Tyree. “And I don’t think any man can stand in the way of destiny.”

In the end, after Plaxico Burress’ 13-yard touchdown catch from Eli Manning had been tucked safely into history, after Tom Brady’s last-gasp effort ended as ugly as most of his game, it was the Giants who were heavenly.

As red, white and blue confetti showered them from the top of the University of Phoenix Stadium dome, they wandered the field as stunned as the rest of us.

Manning stared up at the sky. Burress staggered from hug to hug. Coach Tom Coughlin just stood there shaking his head.

“I was lost,” said defensive end Michael Strahan. “We shocked the world, but I think we also shocked ourselves.”

Rookie Kevin Boss literally was lost, amid the sea of photographers and the din of thousands of Giants cheers.

“It didn’t feel real, I didn’t know where to go,” he said. “I felt like Jim Valvano out there, looking for a hug.”

That hug will be felt for the next six months by a team that, in 3 1/2 glorious hours, seemingly righted a season of NFL wrongs.

For once, the sport wasn’t about convicted dogfighters or strip club shooters. For once, the winner wasn’t somebody who had cheated or drugged.

“I know everybody thinks the NFL is a bunch of prima donnas, but we showed today what a good team can do,” said Giants receiver Amani Toomer.

It was a good team that entered this game feeling slighted. “They were inviting us to their parties after the game,” said Toomer. “They showed us no respect.”

It was a good team that, as nearly a two-touchdown underdog, couldn’t understand why nobody understood.

“Nobody gave us a chance,” said defensive end Justin Tuck. “It really did feel like David and Goliath.”

It was a team that believed only one thing, and it was repeated to them by former Chicago Bears star Mike Singletary during a Saturday night meeting.

“He told us we were an old-school football team, he said we came hard on every play, he told us we just had to show it,” Tuck said. “So we did.”

It showed in Patriots quarterback Brady’s body, which was racked and rolled by constant pressure that forced him into awful passes and bad sacks.

Said Tuck: “I saw the look in Brady’s eye like, ‘I wish they would slow down.’ ”

It showed in a Patriots running game that gained only 45 yards, and a Patriots receiving corps whose leader Randy Moss caught one pass before the fourth quarter.

Said Brady: “This isn’t something any of us ever prepared for.”

Finally, when the weary and cramping Giants defense allowed Brady his trademark fourth-quarter Super Bowl scoring drive to give the Patriots a 14-10 lead, this toughness showed in Eli Manning.

The defense had carried the kid quarterback to the verge of history. Now it was time for him to carry them the rest of the way.

“He grew up all season,” said Tuck. “Then it was time for him to grow up even more.”

With his brother Peyton Manning pumping his fist from a luxury box, Eli began the final drive at the Giants’ 17-yard line with 2:39 remaining.

The odds were long, but the aging Patriots were exhausted, and when Burress looked at the scoreboard, he got a funny feeling.

“I thought, ‘We can do this,’ ” he said.

On the sidelines, Strahan echoed that feeling.

“I was walking up and down shouting, ‘17-14, 17-14!’ ” he said. “I kept saying, ‘Listen to me, 17-14!’ ”

Still, sane folks didn’t quite believe it until, on third and five from the Giants’ 44-yard line, Manning somehow yanked himself free of a double sack by Richard Seymour and Jarvis Green.

Then he spotted Tyree stopping his route to help him, and lofted the ball downfield.

Said Seymour: “I don’t know how he got out of there. Normally he’ll either go down or give himself up but he continued to fight and work hard.”

Said Manning: “I found a way to get loose and just really threw it up.”

The ball fell between Tyree and Rodney Harrison, and a battle ensued. Tyree eventually wrestled the ball from Harrison’s hands, and pulled it off his own helmet, for the catch.

“I have no clue how it happened,” Tyree said. “I just knew there was no way I’d let it go.”

By the time he fell to the ground with a 32-yard reception, the Giants knew.

“I saw that catch and thought, ‘We’re gonna win this game,’ ” said Tuck. “Twenty years from now, we’ll still be talking about that catch.”

Although this finish was so breathtaking, the catch was forgotten moments later when Burress hauled in a 13-yard touchdown pass after running right past defender Ellis Hobbs.

Yes, Burress was nearly accurate on his pregame 23-17 prediction.

“I had a big sigh of relief,” he said.

And today, a big cheer from most of the football world, which is celebrating the second-biggest upset in Super Bowl history, behind only the New York Jets’ victory in Super Bowl III. It will also quietly revel in a humbling loss by a rule-breaking team and its condescending coach.

By the way, Belichick, despite clear visual evidence of him disappearing into a tunnel, claimed he didn’t leave early.

“We did stay,” he said.

Oh, just shut up.

Bill Plaschke can be reached at [email protected]. To read previous columns by Plaschke, go to latimes.com/plaschke.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Wild fourth

After a defensive struggle for three quarters, the lead changed three times in the fourth as the teams scored 21 of the 31 points. The drives:

Patriots: Punt, touchback.

Giants: 6 plays, 80 yards; Eli Man- ning five-yard touchdown pass to David Tyree. Giants lead, 10-7 (11:10).

Patriots: 5 plays, 20 yards, punt.

Giants: 4 plays, nine yards, punt.

Patriots: 12 plays, 80 yards; Tom Brady six-yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss. Patriots lead, 14-10 (2:45).

Giants: 12 plays, 83 yards; Manning 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress. Giants lead, 17-14 (0:35).

Patriots: 5 plays, minus-10 yards, turnover on downs (0:01).

Giants: 1 play, minus-one yard.