The theme developing in the first half was the Giants' continuous pressure on Tom Brady. Late in the second quarter, Fox analyst Troy Aikman said the Giants front had "won inside the trenches." He said: "The Giants defensively are having their way."

Aikman pointed out that the Giants showed a great deal of faith in their ability to get at the quarterback. They were attacking the Patriots in a variety of ways, with different blitzes. "They do what they do," he said, "and they don't care if sometimes that leaves them one-on-one outside."

Play-by-play man Joe Buck might have made his biggest first-half splash as one of the bobbleheaded folks in a Diet Pepsi Max commercial.

Randy Moss got only a few mentions, the first time with 33 seconds left in the first quarter. When Moss finally caught a pass with 6:45 left, Aikman indicated he thought the Patriots could be doing more to get him the ball, saying Moss always is double-teamed, so that's no excuse.