By Ralph Vacchiano GLENDALE, Ariz. -

The imperfect Giants pulled off the perfect upset Sunday night.

In what will go down as one of the biggest shockers in the history of the NFL, the surprising Giants ended one of their wildest seasons ever by stopping the New England Patriots' quest to make history of their own. They beat the previously undefeated Pats, 17-14, in Super Bowl XLII, to win their first NFL championship in 17 years and third overall.

The Giants backed up a week of tough talk and guarantees with a dominating defense that spent much of the night pounding NFL MVP Tom Brady into the University of Phoenix Stadium turf. That gave just enough room to Eli Manning to punctuate his breakout season with a Super Bowl MVP performace that featured his sixth fourth-quarter comeback of his remarkable year.

In fact, he had to come back twice. And the finale was a heart-stopping drive that was the perfect ending to this heart-stopping season. In what will go down as one of the greatest Super Bowl highlights ever, Manning escaped a seeming sack and completed a 32-yard pass to little-used receiver David Tyree - who outfought Rodney Harrison for the ball and balanced it on his helmet and kept it from hitting the ground at the Patriots' 24. Then, on another third down, there was a big 12-yard catch at the sideline from rookie Steve Smith at the 13.

And the finale was a 13-yard pass to Plaxico Burress, who had been the center of a firestorm all week long after he guaranteed the Giants' would win. He backed up his words by backing off Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs and catching the touchdown pass that finally put the Patriots' dynasty to rest.

"It's the greatest feeling in professional sports," said Burress. "For us to come out and win the world championship, nobody gave us a shot . . . we never got down on ourselves. We had to make plays, and we made it.

Manning completed 19 of 34 passes for 255 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdown passes. And Justin Tuck had two of the Giants' five sacks to lead a powerful defense, one that didn't allow the Patriots to gain a single yard when they got the ball back with 36 seconds left.

It all added up to the Giants' 11th straight win away from Giants Stadium, as they became the second team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl after winning their first three playoff games on the road.

Most importantly, the Giants (14-6) did what no one else had been able to do this season - they handed the Patriots (18-1) a loss.

That likely caused some celebrating among the 1972 Miami Dolphins, who remain the lone unbeaten team in the history of the NFL. The Giants, meanwhile, will bring their celebration home to Manhattan tomorrow morning, when they cruise up the Canyon of Heroes in a ticker tape parade.

Manning helped get the party started in the fourth quarter when, with the Giants trailing 7-3, he shook off three quarters of offensive struggles with a 45-pass to rookie tight end Kevin Boss. That sparked a six-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 5-yard pass to Tyree, giving the Giants a 10-7 lead with 11:05 to play.

To no one's surprise, the Patriots answered. They took their own lead, 14-10, with 2:42 remaining when Tom Brady (29-for-48, 266 yards, one touchdown) rode Wes Welker (11 catches, 103 yards) down the field and connected on a 6-yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss.

But Manning, who's been The Comeback Kid for the Giants all season, had one last comeback in him - the 10th fourth-quarter comeback of his now storybook career.

The Giants got the ball first under the closed roof, amid a sea of flashes going off as fans sought to record a piece of history. But the Giants' began by stealing a page from their own history books, with a game plan right out of Super Bowl XXV. They slowly and methodically marched down the field, riding nothing but short passes and runs.

It was as if the entire goal of their offense was to keep the Patriots' offense off the field.

And for a while, it worked. On the first drive, the Giants went 63 yards in 16 plays and ate up all but one second of the first 10 minutes of the game. It was the longest drive in Super Bowl history. But at the end, the Giants had to settle for a 32-yard Lawrence Tynes field goal and an early 3-0 lead.

That red-zone failure would prove to be costly when Brady and the Patriots' record-setting offense finally got their chance to do what they do best - they marched right downfield for a touchdown with relative ease. They even got an assist from an end zone pass interference call on Antonio Pierce that set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Laurence Maroney that put New England up 7-3.

The Giants looked like they were going to answer when they got a brilliant 38-yard catch along the sidelines by Amani Toomer at the Patriots' 19. But all of a sudden, the Giants' offense looked out of synch. And third-and-5 from the Patriots' 14, Manning's slightly off-target pass bounced off the hands of rookie Steve Smith and into the arms of Pats cornerback Ellis Hobbs. It was the first interception Manning had thrown since he was picked off by Hobbs back in Week 17.

Then, on their next drive, they nearly fumbled the game away deep in their own territory, when rookie Ahmad Bradshaw dropped a handoff and stole the recovery away from Patriots linebacker Pierre Woods

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