Patriots lead Giants 10-9 at half in Super Bowl XLVI
(MedleyStory) Sun, February 5, 2012, 7:59 PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) --New England scored its first touchdown in Super Bowl XLVI with only seconds left in the first half to lead New York Giants 10-9. Eli Manning started 9 for 9 for 77 yards and the TD to Victor Cruz, who did his celebratory salsa dance in the back of the end zone with about 3½ minutes left in the quarter. Manning is the first quarterback to begin a Super Bowl with nine consecutive completions. Manning was the MVP back in 2008, when New York upset New England in the Super Bowl, ruining the Patriots’ bid for a perfect season. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has been a Super Bowl MVP twice himself, but started as shakily as could be Sunday. On his first play of the game, which began at New England’s 6, he threw the ball away deep while standing in his own end zone and being pressured by Giants defensive lineman Justin Tuck. A penalty for intentional grounding was called, which resulted in the safety and a 2-0 lead for the Giants. Only one other time in Super Bowl history did the game’s first score come on a safety, all the way back in 1975, when the Steelers beat the Vikings. That also meant New England had to kick the ball back to New York, and Manning led a 78-yard, nine-play drive that ended with the TD, making it 9-0. Little went right for New England at the outset. New York ran 19 of the game’s first 20 plays, outgaining New England 108-0 in yards and holding a time-of-possession edge of 11 minutes, 28 seconds to 8 seconds. New England didn’t get its initial first down until there were under two minutes left in the opening quarter. There also was an apparent fumble by the Giants, recovered by the Patriots — except it was wiped out by a penalty because New England was caught with 12 men on the field, instead of 11. The only positive early on for the AFC champion Patriots? They won the pregame coin toss, after NFC teams had won the past 14 at the Super Bowl. New England deferred its choice until the second half, giving New York the ball first.   End of First Quarter: Giants: 9, Patriots 0 The Patriots finally got on the board with a 29-yard field goal with 13:52 left in the second quarter. Brady got his first touchdown with only seconds left in the first half with a four-yard pass.     End of First Half: Patriots 10, Giants 9   Sunday’s game is a rematch of the 2008 Super Bowl, when the Giants had an upset 17-14 win over the Patriots, ending New England’s bid for a perfect season. The Patriots (15-3) enter on a 10-game winning streak. Their last loss came against New York in the regular season, a 24-20 Giants victory on Nov. 6. The Giants (12-7) have won five consecutive games. The roof is closed at Lucas Oil Stadium as Indianapolis hosts the NFL championship game for the first time, with an expected U.S. TV audience exceeding 100 million.

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