What blew the Super Bowl for the Patriots?

It was déjà vu all over again when the clock stopped ticking as the New York Giants secured their fourth Super Bowl championship with a 21-17 win over the New England Patriots. And it was déjà vu again when Eli Manning hoisted the Super Bowl MVP (most valuable player) trophy in the air for the second time in five years.

Last Sunday's game made history and has convinced me of many things going forward into 2012.

Giants vs. Patriots has officially become an NFL rivalry. Granted, the teams will meet only once every four years in the regular season and can only meet in the Super Bowl in the postseason, but the fact that two Super Bowls have been decided between the two teams makes them a historic rivalry.

Eli Manning has passed himself into the Pro Football Hall of Fame with this second win. He could break his back tomorrow and never play again, and I would consider him a Hall of Famer if I had a vote.

Unlike other quarterbacks who had their teams win big games without significant contribution under center, the Giants' two world titles were secured because of Manning's clutch performances.

In Super Bowl XLII, he led a fourth quarter comeback drive to regain the lead with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the left corner of the end zone to cap off a 12-play drive that left 35 seconds on the clock.

In Super Bowl XLVI, he led another fourth quarter comeback drive to regain the lead with a six-yard touchdown run by Ahmad Bradshaw with 57 seconds remaining after a nine-play drive.

These were two drives in the biggest of games, where Eli Manning made clutch throw after throw to get his team the win and the ring.

Is that a Hall of Famer? A guy who takes over the game at the most critical time? I think so.

Whenever a team loses the Super Bowl, the fans automatically look for the person to blame for losing it--the scapegoat. Several people have already sunk their teeth into Tom Brady since he is the quarterback, but he played well going 27-41 for 276 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.

Brady could have played better, but Wes Welker dropped a first down pass on second-and-11 that could have sealed the game in the fourth quarter. The ball was high, but Welker managed to leap into the air and get both hands on it. He just couldn't come down with it. After another incompletion, the Patriots punted and the Giants went on to score the final points.

That wasn't the biggest mistake though. Those mistakes are remembered because they happened near the end of the game, but there is one mistake that I felt the New England Patriots defense made that was inexcusable and cost them the game in the end.

Go back to the first quarter and the Giants' second drive. The Giants have the ball on the 11-yard line of the Patriots and it is third-and-three.

Manning completes a pass to his right to wide receiver Victor Cruz. Then, defensive back Sterling Moore gets behind him and rips the ball out of Cruz's grasp as linebacker Brandon Spikes falls on top of it. The replay showed on TV revealed it was clearly a fumble because Cruz was still standing up with possession when the ball came out.

However, the penalty flag on the defense for 12 players on the field negated the turnover and gave the Giants a first down. Two plays later, the Manning found Cruz for the touchdown.

That's the play that really draws my criticism. How can you not know who is supposed to be on the field or not? Twelve men on the field is a procedure penalty and procedure penalties come from a lack of discipline. If that hadn't happened, the Giants wouldn't have gotten the touchdown and the Patriots would have kept momentum. If that hadn't happened, I think the Patriots would have won the Super Bowl.

I think a lot of people are too quick to blame Welker or Brady mainly because their mistakes happened in the fourth quarter and that stuck in people's memory.

It doesn't erase what happened in quarter one, though. That penalty made more difference than any dropped pass or any failed pass attempt.

The biggest question for all NFL fans is if this is the end of the Patriots dynasty that has been to five Super Bowls and won three in the last decade.

No, it isn't yet, in my opinion. I thought the Patriots dynasty was over after 2007 and I was wrong then, so I'm not going to underestimate them.