On January 7, 2007, Jerry Reese sat in the press box at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field and watched the Giants lose on a field goal as time expired in a wild-card playoff game against the Eagles. Despite the outcome, Reese, then the Giants' director of player personnel, was encouraged.

New York had gone 8-8 during the regular season. It had a slew of players on injured reserve, including defensive end Michael Strahan, wide receiver Amani Toomer, defensive end Justin Tuck and cornerback Corey Webster. Yet the team had lost by only three points to the NFC East champs.

Reese believed the Giants could have won that game. If we can get our players back, he thought to himself, we're not that far away.

Thirteen months later, things have changed.

Reese is now the Giants' general manager; the first African American G.M. of a Super Bowl team, he was named to his new post, appropriately, on Martin Luther King Day. He replaced Ernie Accorsi, who retired. Those four players who were on I.R. did come back -- and they made vital contributions. Eli Manning has taken the giant step from a pedestrian quarterback during his first three seasons to a premier one this postseason.

And now the Giants are world champions.

On Sunday night in Glendale, Ariz., they shocked the New England Patriots, who were on the threshold of becoming the first 19-0 team in league history, the rest of the NFL and the world by scoring a 17-14 victory in Super Bowl 42 -- one of the biggest upsets in NFL history.

"Nobody gave us a chance the last four weeks," says Plaxico Burress, who caught the winning touchdown pass from Manning with 35 seconds left. "Now, everybody can jump on the bandwagon."

The Giants will take a few moments to embrace their improbable season and their new title. Then the organization must turn its attention to such important offseason matters as the NFL Scouting Combine, which opens February 20; the start of free agency, which will follow on February 29; and the draft in April.

If you think winning the Super Bowl is a huge challenge, returning to it the next year is a Herculean task. What the Giants do over the next several months will set the foundation for whether they'll be in the championship picture again in 2008.

But we'll get to that later. First, let's acknowledge their crowning achievement.

Although they came to Arizona propelled by dual jet engines of momentum -- three straight postseason victories and 10 consecutive road wins -- the NFC's fifth-seeded Giants were prohibitive underdogs. The 18-0 Patriots were favored by 12 points and trying to lay claim to their fourth Super Bowl title in seven years. But the Giants derailed New England's flawless aspirations with a near-perfect performance of their own.

The defense pressured Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, the NFL's MVP, into a state of claustrophobia with its constant pressure. Led by Tuck (two sacks), Strahan (one) and the occasional blitzing linebacker or defensive back, New York sacked Brady five times, knocked him down at least a dozen more and disrupted his rhythm most of the game.

Manning did a pretty good impression of his brother Peyton, who watched in admiration from a suite at University of Phoenix Stadium, by completing 19 of 34 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns. Of the two quarterbacks, you would have thought Brady would have displayed the better poise. But Manning, playing in his first Super Bowl, was a cool customer.

The Patriots took a 14-10 lead with 2:42 remaining when Brady finished a 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive with a 6-yard pass to Randy Moss. Then Manning stepped into the spotlight and produced his finest moments as an NFL quarterback.

Starting at the New York 17, he orchestrated a brilliant retaliation. Standing in shotgun formation throughout the series, he completed five of nine passes for 77 yards. He scrambled for 5 yards on a first-down play, then completed a 32-yard pass to David Tyree two plays later. Then came the coup de grace.

Enter Manning's accomplice, Burress, who had been plagued by a sore ankle all season and a swollen knee that kept him out of practice most of the week before the game. Until then, Burress had caught only one pass for 14 yards. But he maintained a patient demeanor, hoping his big moment would come.

On first-and-10 from the New England 13, Burress lined up on the left, facing single coverage against cornerback Ellis Hobbs. While studying film during the week, Burress had noticed Hobbs tended to slow his feet near the goal line and often tried to jump slant routes. Burress came off the line fast, made a move like he was going to run a post, then turned outside.

The double move fooled Hobbs, who slipped. Burress stood all alone in the corner of the end zone as Manning's rainbow pass descended toward him. What was Burress thinking? "Just catch it," he says. "And make sure your feet are in bounds. When I caught it, it was like, 'Ahhhh.' "

With his game-winning catch, Burress removed some self-imposed pressure. Earlier in the week, he had opened his "big mouth" and predicted a 23-17 Giants victory. At the time, it was a foolish assertion that was not looked on kindly by Giants coach Tom Coughlin. But his words turned out to be prescient.

In the Giants locker room, backup cornerback Kevin Dockery carried a giant bottle of Dom Perignon, vintage 1999. Asked when he was going to pop the cork, he replied, "I don't know if it'll ever get opened."

Pat Hanlon, the team's vice president of communications, wore a preprinted blue T-shirt that marked the moment. On the back were the words: "You gotta hang No. 1 to be No. 1." It even had the teams' final records: Giants 14-6, Patriots 18-1. Talk about prescient.

Then there was Manning, who wore a grin as wide as the Hudson River. He posed for a picture with his proud papa, former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, and accepted congratulations from brothers Peyton and Cooper. He came to Arizona with the skeptics still doubting his credentials as an elite quarterback and returned to New York with the game's MVP trophy.

"You've got to tip your hat to everyone in here," Tuck said as he stood in front of his locker. "It was a collective deal. I know they have to have an MVP, but you could have given the MVP to everybody. The O-line did a great job, the running backs did a great job, our D-line was great, the secondary ... You could go on and on.

"This is a hell of a story. This is what legends are made of."