The sport of politics. The politics of sport.

Weeks ago, when I first wrote the following article, I warned NFL fans that the final game of the season between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants was a “good loss” for New York that could transform them into a bigger factor in the playoffs than people realized.

That reality has come to pass, with the Giants mirroring the 1985 Patriots, who beat three conference favorites to earn a spot at the Super Bowl. The Giants used the momentum from their confidence-building performance against the Patriots in the game that gave the Pats that coveted 16-0 regular season record. They dispensed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They stunned the Dallas Cowboys. They thwarted the destiny of the Green Bay Packers. And now, a little more than a month after their last meeting, the unlikely contender from New Jersey faces what many see as a divinely-led Patriots team aiming for ultimate glory: a perfect 19-0 season, something that has never been accomplished in the history of the NFL.

Here’s my take on that playoff-altering matchup days before the New Year:

Saturday Night Fever gripped the nation prior to the NFL matchup between the undefeated New England Patriots and the resurgent New York Giants Dec. 29. But that affliction was well worth the sweats, heart palpitations, pre-game nausea and headaches of many of America’s football fans — especially Patriots fans — as the clocked ticked down to opening kickoff.

The game was, by any account, remarkable — maybe the best game of the entire 2007 season. The Giants, widely regarded as automatic underdogs, came out swinging. The Patriots, the pressure of going 16–0 for the first time in NFL history draped on their collective shoulders, never gave up even when trailing by 12 points in the second half. Both teams exemplified what it means to work together as a cohesive unit with the same mission: to win. Despite a couple of penalties and some alpha-male pushing and shoving, the game was also a pretty good demonstration of class by both clubs. The players did their loudest talking on their biggest plays.

Randy Moss was, again, the most visible player on the field next to quarterbacks Tom Brady and Eli Manning — especially after he caught a spectacular 65-yard pass from Brady for the Pats’ go-ahead touchdown. Moss’ resilience is the most obvious sign of his maturity as a player: that momentum-turning TD came on the heels of a rare dropped pass by Moss just one play before.

Facing the press after the game in tinted shades and a blue suit (unshaven, I might add, just like his teammates), Moss got blunt about what his Patriots experience has meant to him. Responding to a question about what it meant for him to break Jerry Rice’s record for most passes caught in a season, Moss said the best part of his entire experience as a Patriot was “shutting you guys up.” After all the negative coverage and questions about his dedication to the game of football in recent years, it must indeed be sweet to render the naysayers speechless.

In the final game of what turned out to be a perfect 2007 regular season for New England, we also have to give props to Giants receiver Plaxico Burress, whose height and grace allowed him to repeatedly outplay Patriots defenders, including a Moss-like pirouette on the edge of the end zone for his prettiest touchdown. Burress has been nursing an injury, making his effort that much more noble. His only mistake came off the field, after the game, when he complained about the officiating.

Think about when the Pats played in Indianapolis earlier this season and the penalties were tilted so heavily in Indy’s favor that the officials morphed into the equivalent of the Colts’ “thirteenth man.” I guess if you win against those kinds of odds, which the Pats did against the Colts, complaining is beside the point. The odds weren’t tilted to anywhere near that degree against the Giants Saturday, if they were tilted at all (after all, it was a home game for New York). In any case, blaming bad calls for a loss is the cheapest shot an athlete can take at an opponent. While it couldn’t compare to the whinefest that came out of Baltimore after the Ravens melted down in their matchup against the Pats, Burress’ attempt to diminish the Pats win by blaming the officials was a sour note in an otherwise stellar effort.

Here I must give a nod to players on the winning team who we rarely see before the press cameras. Kevin Faulk is seen as the Pats most unsung hero by many sports pundits, but he’s quietly pulled the Pats out of more third-down scrapes than I can count. I’m willing to bet the team would have had two or three losses on its seasonal resume if Faulk hadn’t been there at key moments. Faulk was everywhere he needed to be last night, without the fanfare attached to Brady and Moss but with all of the productivity that allowed his teammates to shine. Ellis Hobbs had trouble containing the towering Burress, but he made a key interception just when the Patriots needed it — and from there, New England was in the driver’s seat.

The Patriots have kept their running game on the down low, but it’s starting to emerge at just the right time: on the eve of the playoffs. Running back Laurence Maroney started the first half doing what he often does — running into defensive brick walls. But he made his difference in the second half. In the Pats-Dolphins game the week before, Maroney seemed to take a page from the Colts’ Joseph Addai as he broke free on two plays for a total of more than 100 yards. Maroney’s emergence as a big playmaker is crucial, as the Patriots will face fast, physical defenses in their quest for Super Bowl win No. 4.

Speaking of defense: My hats off to Michael Strahan and company. They gave the Patriots a run for their money — but also prepped New England well for what they will face in a couple of weeks. The Giants defense was a more mature version of what we saw from the Ravens. Until a couple of momentum-shifting events late in the second half dampened the impact of their hard work, Strahan and the guys showed everyone how you spell D-E-F-E-N-S-E. The Giants head into their NFC playoff matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a great gift from the Patriots: they were given an opportunity to match themselves against the best of the best, and they came out looking better than they have all season as a result. The confidence the Giants were able to take into their game against the Patriots— especially the confidence of Manning — should make them more than just a factor in the hunt for the NFC Championship.

Yours Truly, A.F. Cook