Act Like You've Been There Before

For the Giants anyway, they have been...at least against 3 out of their 4 playoff opponents.

In considering what the Giants accomplished this year (a #5 seed winning the Super Bowl...who happened to be a modest 10-6 team...who happened to be playing one of the greatest teams in NFL history...an opponent that was 18-0 going into it...yada yada yada), I discovered an interesting tidbit: Of the 4 teams that the Giants faced in the post-season, they had already faced 3 of them...and LOST to all 3 (twice to Dallas).

That's right. Of the 6 losses the Giants posted during the 2007 season, 4 of them came from their last 3 opponents faced...just earlier in the season.

• In the Wildcard game, the Giants faced Tampa Bay, who they hadn't previously faced during the regular season game, and won 24-14.
• The Division Championship game was against a Cowboys team that had previously beaten them twice during the regular season (35-45 in Week 1, and 20-31 in Week 10), but yet the Giants won 21-17.
• The NFC Conference Championship game was against a Packers team that had previously beaten them 13-35 in Week 2, yet the Giants won 23-20 in OT.
• Finally, in the Super Bowl, the Giants faced a Pats team that had previously beaten them 35-38 in Week 17, yet the Giants won 17-14.

Apparently seeing these guys a second (or even third) time paid off.

I do have to say that the 5th seed Giants beating the 2007 18-1 Patriots is probably a greater accomplishment than the 6th seed 2005 Steelers winning the Super Bowl. Well done.