In light of the fact that the New York Giants and New England Patriots are playing in the final week of the preseason before the regular season starts, it's only fitting to look back on some of the recent history between the two franchises, including when the Giants stopped history from being made in what many call the greatest Super Bowl ever.

In 2008, the Giants made a fantastic run through the playoffs after losing in Week 17 against the Patriots at home to see New England clinch a 16-0 regular season record and that loss helped set up the championship victory weeks later. The game was hugely anticipated when the Patriots improved to 15-0 and with the Giants clinching their playoff spot with a victory over the Buffalo Bills in Week 16, the media and the entire football world wondered if Tom Coughlin would play his starters.

Many felt that the Giants should play the game with their starters despite not being able to improve their playoff position either way to preserve the integrity of the game, while others argued that Coughlin shouldn't risk injury. Knowing Coughlin, he opted to play his starters and the exciting game ended up having the Patriots win despite a great effort from the Giants and there is a great story that Tom Coughlin tells in an NFL documentary, saying that the next day John Madden left him a message at his office saying that it was one of the best things he had ever seen while in the game of football.

The Super Bowl was obviously a very hyped game because of what it simply is, but with the Giants and Patriots going at it, there were plenty of interesting storylines, including with Coughlin and Belichick previously coaching on the same staff, Tom Brady and Eli Manning going up against each other, and of course the Patriots going for a perfect record at 18-0. The Giants were the easy underdogs since the Patriots were undefeated and they were a wild card team, but after outlasting the Buccaneers and the Cowboys in the playoffs along with the Packers in the NFC championship game, the Giants were ready to take on New England.

The Giants were listed as double-digit underdogs in the game after coming in with a 10-6 regular season record, but New York never acted like David to New England's goliath and after a miracle play from Eli Manning and David Tyree, New York became champions again with a 17-14 victory. Eli Manning ended up winning the MVP of the Super Bowl after throwing the amazing pass and it was Plaxico Burress who caught the winning touchdown after the two-minute drive at the end of the game. The 13-yard touchdowns sealed the game for the Giants and that came after the miracle play from Tyree.

This play is considered by some to be the best in Super Bowl history and it saw the Giants driving down the field down 14-10 and with Manning coming under pressure, he somehow was able to escape the grasp of Patriots players to put up a fluttering pass down the middle of the field. David Tyree, who according to Coughlin had an awful final practice before the big game, made the catch with one hand on his helmet, hanging on while Rodney Harrison tried to wrestle him down. Manning finished with 19 of 34 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns and won his first of two eventual MVPs. That play, plus the fact that the Patriots were 18-0, made this one of the best Super Bowls ever.