WHEN THE PATRIOTS HAD THE BALL: With the running game working in fits and starts, Tom Brady needed to throw. And throw he did, completing 32 of 42 passes for 356 yards and two touchdowns. Wes Welker was the workhorse, with 11 catches (giving him a team-record 112 for the season) for 122 yards, but Randy Moss was the star, with two of his six catches going for touchdowns, including the game-winner on a 65-yard pass one play after Brady had underthrown him and he'd dropped a 45-yard pass deep in Giants territory. Brady finished the season with an NFL-record 50 touchdown passes and Moss with an NFL-record 23 touchdown catches.

WHEN THE GIANTS HAD THE BALL: For the longest time, it appeared last night would be Eli Manning's coming-out party. He led the Giants on an impressive 85-yard drive in the final two minutes of the first half, enabling them to take the lead, and then engineered another scoring drive on their first possession of the third quarter as New York went ahead, 28-16. But he wilted as the game went on, throwing a key interception and displaying poor time management in the fourth quarter that made it almost impossible for New York to come back from a late 38-28 deficit.

SPECIAL TEAMS: The Pats were settling for field goals instead of touchdowns in the first half, but Stephen Gostkowski hit them all. The Giants, though, did well, too, as Domenik Hixon returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

COACHING: The Giants put pressure on Brady, but the veteran quarterback -- despite working behind a makeshift offensive line that was missing Stephen Neal and Nick Kaczur -- was able to work Josh McDaniels' game plan to perfection. Bill Belichick was less happy with his own defense, noting that the Giants made some big plays during the game.

INTANGIBLES: The pregame hype for a regular-season contest was almost unfathomable, but this game somehow lived up to it . . . and maybe even surpassed it, considering the historic value of the victory. And in the end, Belichick allowed himself a rare public smile. "I'm happy,'' he admitted. "I'm happy. You work all year to win games and when you win them all, it's great. I'm happy about it.''