Old Bhoy Tynes kicks Giants to the Super Bowl
Forget the Patriots revenge mission for that Super Bowl loss which prevented the perfect season in 2008.
Why? Because there’s a better story than all of that. A tale about a Celtic fan raised in Scotland who kicked the winning points in Monday morning’s NFC Championship game as the Giants beat the San Francisco 49ers in overtime.
Having sunk the Green Bay Packers from 47 yards in 2008, Lawrence Tynes made a 31-yard shot at a rainy and windswept Candlestick Park to edge his side past the San Francisco 49ers 20-17.
“It’s my second NFC championship game, my second game-winner,” Tynes said.
“It’s amazing. I had dreams about this last night. It was from 42 [yards], not 31, but I was so nervous today before the game. There was something about tonight where I knew I was going to have to make a kick.”
His accent now betrays no trace of his upbringing in Scotland’s Central Lowlands, after a career forged in the States. The son of a Navy SEAL, Tynes excelled as a kicker at Milton High School, where the Celtic fan also starred for the “soccer” team.
But the Giants true hero though was Eli Manning.
He went 32 of 58 for 316 yards and two touchdowns in his record fifth road playoff win, New York’s fifth in a row overall and fifth out of six.
“His knowledge and grasp of the offence, the way he handles things, that’s just from a football standpoint, let alone his leadership,” said David Diehl, who has played with Manning through his entire professional career.
“It’s just been unbelievable to see the way he’s improved, the grasp of the offence, the audibles, the sacks, the recognition of blitzes, but most importantly the leadership.”
Of course the 49ers contributed to their downfall. Kyle Williams allowed a Steve Weatherford punt to hit his knee in the fourth quarter and fumbled another return in overtime.
But the hype about the Giants and Eli Manning will be further incentive to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. They needed Baltimore Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff to shank a 32-yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining of normal time for their 23-20 AFC championship win.
And, by his own assessment, Brady wasn’t very good. But his one-yard touchdown dive in which he soared over the Ravens’ touted defensive line, provided the winning points with 11 minutes 29 seconds remaining.
“Well, I sucked pretty bad today, but our defence saved us,” Brady said.
“I’m going to try to do a better job in a couple of weeks, but I’m proud of this team, my teammates.”
He had his defence to thank for getting him there. Ranked 31st for the season they shut down Ray Rice and limited him to 78 yards. Brandon Spikes made a fourth-quarter interception of Joe Flacco and when the Ravens were threatening to score a late touchdown, back-up cornerback Sterling Moore stripped Lee Evans of the ball on what could have been a winning touchdown catch.
“It’s a pretty mentally tough team,” said Brady, whose fifth trip to the Super Bowl will equal John Elway’s achievement with Denver.
“There’s really some resiliency. We’ve shown that all season. Even in the games we’ve lost, the three games we lost, we fought until the end. We’re always going to fight to the end.”
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