Eli Manning did not want Ahmad Bradshaw to score the go-ahead touchdown in the Super Bowl XLVI
With just less than a minute left on the clock, New York Giants were two points behind New England Patriots in the Super Bowl XLVI matchup at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and running back, Ahmad Bradshaw, scored a six-yard touchdown to give Giants
a lead to seal the deal.
But, did the Giants need that scoring move?
‘No.’
Giants quarterback and Super Bowl XLVI Most Valuable Player (MVP), Eli Manning, has revealed that he did not want Bradshaw to score that touchdown.
A day after winning the Super Bowl, Manning shared his views on the game-winning touchdown on Monday, February 6, 2012.
Manning said that he judged the call by Patriots’ coach, Bill Belichick, who had deliberately allowed the Giants to score a touchdown.
Belichick was thinking of regaining the possession and initiate a drive in the final minute. If he had gone for blocking Giants’ offensive line, more time would have been consumed.
Bradshaw was given a safe route to reach the end zone and score a touchdown, and he did exactly that after rushing for six yards.
He ended up scoring in an awkward way though.
After reaching near the end zone, he was confused whether to score or not. As a result, he dropped his body in an unusual way depicting the dilemma he was facing and could not help but scoring the touchdown.
Manning said about the situation:
“I just yelled, ‘Don’t score! Don’t score!’ Obviously, he heard me (because) he thought about it. I know it’s tough for a running back. They see a big hole right there going for a touchdown.”
Manning wanted him to stop a yard short of the end zone that would have allowed Giants to set up a field goal, but things were happening way too fast for Bradshaw.
Bradshaw said:
"I thought I heard Eli yelling at me to fall down. I tried, but I couldn't do it."
Fortunately for Giants, Patriots’ last attempt at scoring failed.
Patriots’ quarterback, Tom Brady, sent a Hail Mary pass, which was dropped by his tight end, Rob Gronkowski, in the end zone.
Meanwhile, Giants’ coach, Tom Coughlin, has also expressed his views about the touchdown.
He too wanted Bradshaw to set up a field goal rather than scoring a touchdown.
However, he maintained that the running back did the right thing as he was not officially instructed to do otherwise.
The coach said:
“Anything that would have become as a result of that would have been my fault because I really didn’t instruct the runner not to score.”
Amidst all the drama, the reality stands – Giants won the Super Bowl XLVI. Now it’s time to enjoy the glory and not allow anything else bother the celebrations.
Tags: