On Sunday, the Patriots feasted on a piece of their much talked about humble pie, though this time, it was served by not Bill Belichick, but the New York Football Giants.  After a dominant season and an impressive route through the playoffs, the Patriots were flirting with perfection headed into the Super Bowl.  But with a 17-14 loss to the underdog Giants, “perfect” has been forever replaced by “almost.”

It was the Giants who this season will send just one player to the Pro Bowl, the Giants who dealt with ridicule from former player Tiki Barber, the Giants who had once mastered the fourth-quarter-fold, the Giants whose playbook I once swore included designed fumbles and interceptions.

And with an unfathomable win in the Super Bowl, the Giants have reminded us of the great things that an average team with average players can do. How did they do it?

It took forgiveness.  Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes knows a thing or two about the importance of forgiveness.  In the NFC Championship game, Tynes missed two consecutive field goals that should have won the game.  Instead, the score remained tied, and the Giants and Packers headed to overtime, where he finally booted through the game winner.

“I screwed it up twice,” Tynes said. “Thank God we got another opportunity.”

It was his teammates, some of whom were no doubt replaying nightmares of Jay Feeley, who were able to forgive. Tynes’ third kick earned them a trip to Arizona.

It took patience.  Quarterback Eli Manning threw a league leading 20 interceptions and finished a dismal 25th in passer rating.  But Tom Coughlin was patient with the young quarterback, and trusted that he could lead this football team.  And when it mattered most, Eli quietly outplayed both Tom Brady and Brett Favre.

After the Giants win over Green Bay, Coughlin shared a brief but telling moment with Eli’s father, Archie.

“He’s got heart,” Coughlin told him. “He’s really got heart.”

It took faith. Gambling odds favored the Giants to lose each of their playoff games.  After three consecutive road wins in the playoffs, the media still wasn’t convinced. NFL analysts took turns hitting the Giants piñata with their banter.

Shirts reading “19-0” (which the Patriots had the audacity to try to trademark) were already being printed and sold.  But the Giants ear muffed all the nonsense and believed in themselves when it mattered most.

"We shocked the world," Pierce said, "but not ourselves."

When a banged up Plaxico Burress predicted the Giants to win 23-17, Patriots fans and players found it comical.

"We're only going to score 17 points?" Brady said, with a laugh and a smile. "OK. Is Plax playing defense? I wish he had said 45-42 and gave us a little credit for scoring more points."

It took determination.  Brady’s dreams of offensive fireworks were thwarted when the agile and powerful Giants defensive front seven familiarized him with the ground.

Credit the Giants with five sacks and one forced fumble against an offensive line featuring three Pro-Bowlers protecting a regular season MVP quarterback.

"He walks around like he's Prince Charles, like he's the golden boy," linebacker Antonio Pierce said. "He walks around like he shouldn't get hit.”

On Sunday, the golden boy became something he and Patriots fans are not used to seeing: average.  And on Sunday, the Giants were something we weren’t used to seeing, but they knew all along: great.

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