INDIANAPOLIS – Eli Manning proved to be the master of the fourth-quarter comeback, once again.

So what if, the New York Giants' 21-17 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI was sealed with one of Manning's teammates ending up on the seat of his pants after one of the most bizarre occurrences in NFL history.

It didn't matter as 68,658 fans at Lucas Oil Stadium watched Peyton Manning's younger brother win a second Super Bowl title.

"I'm just excited to win a championship. I'm excited for my teammates," said Manning, who was named MVP after completing 30 of 40 passes for 296 yards and one touchdown in the sixth straight victory by the Giants (13-7).

"This isn't about one person. This is about the whole team coming together and getting this win. I'm proud of our guys and proud of the team, the way we fought all year. We never got discouraged, kept the faith, kept the confidence and just fought to the very end."

Manning entered Sunday with six game-winning drives in the fourth-quarter or overtime this season and an NFL-record 15 fourth-quarter touchdown passes. He was in familiar territory with less than four minutes remaining and the Patriots leading 17-15.

Just as Manning did with David Tyree in Super Bowl XLII, when the Giants defeated the Patriots 17-14, an unlikely catch set up the winning points.

To begin the nine-play, 88-yard winning drive Sunday, Manning connected with wide receiver Mario Manningham for the game's longest play, a 38-yard pass down the left sideline. Manningham barely got both feet inbounds, and the play withstood a coach's challenge.

The drive ended with running back Ahmad Bradshaw scoring a 6-yard touchdown with 57 seconds remaining. But he didn't intend to score. Because they had only one timeout remaining, the Patriots didn't try to stop Bradshaw. He tried to down himself at the 1-yard line to run more of the clock but fell backward into the end zone. Bradshaw rushed 17 times for 72 yards.

After a failed two-point conversion run, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had time to try and orchestrate a comeback.

"Brady is so dangerous with the ball, you don't know what to expect," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said.

Brady was foiled by two drops on the final drive, and he was sacked by former Notre Dame standout Justin Tuck. Brady still was able to heave a last-gasp Hail Mary pass into the end zone as time expired, and it just missed the outstretched hands of tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Gronkowski played despite his sprained ankle but had only two catches for 26 yards.

"This is amazing," said Giants receiver Victor Cruz, who had four catches for 25 yards and a touchdown. "I've dreamed of this moment. I've dreamed of this time. I've dreamed of being here. That's my grammar school gym teacher right there. I couldn't ask for anything more, man. This is the best feeling of my life. I want to catch some confetti; I want to bring it home."

Brady completed 27 of 41 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, but his Super Bowl record fell to 3-2. Tight end Aaron Hernandez had eight receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown. Former Indiana running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis rushed 10 times for 44 yards.

"I can't fault our players; they played as good as they could," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "Maybe we could have played a tiny bit better though."

The Giants dominated early, racking up 12 of the first 15 first downs and holding the ball for 19:29 of the first 25:49, en route to a 9-3 lead.

That included a safety on the Patriots' first offensive play, after Brady got flagged for intentional grounding when he threw the ball deep from his own end zone, with Tuck about to hit him. It was the sixth safety in Super Bowl history.

Manning completed his first nine passes, a Super Bowl record, and connected with Cruz on a 2-yard touchdown pass with 3:24 left in the first quarter for a 9-0 lead.

New England (15-4) got a 29-yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski on the next drive. And a memorable 3:55 drive late in the second quarter put the Patriots on top, as Brady completed all 10 of his passes. The 14-play, 96-yard drive tied for the longest in Super Bowl history and finished with with Brady finding running back Danny Woodhead on a 4-yard touchdown pass with 8 seconds left in the half for a 10-9 Patriots lead.

Brady kept things going to open the second half, orchestrating an eight-play, 79-yard drive that concluded with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Hernandez for a 17-9 lead. That was Brady's 16th consecutive competed pass, shattering Joe Montana's record of 13 from Super Bowl XXIV, a 55-10 victory by San Francisco over Denver after the 1989 season.

New York's Lawrence Tynes made a 38-yard field goal to cut New England's lead to17-12 with 6:43 remaining in the third quarter.

A 33-yard Tynes field goal cut the Patriots' lead to 17-15.

jcohn@jg.net