For a moment, it looked like another chapter was about to be written into the storied legacy of the Green Bay Packers and Lambeau Field. All the elements were in place to add the storybook tale of "Ice Bowl, Part II."
Bart Starr's plunge over the goal line would be joined in Packers' lore by Brett Favre, leading a comeback in similarly-frigid temperatures to earn a berth in the Super Bowl.
Everything seemed to follow the script when Lawrence Tynes missed a 36-yard field goal -- his second flub of the day -- as time expired to send the NFC Championship to overtime. The Green Bay Packers, considered by so many so-called "experts" to be a team of destiny, would get another chance to advance to Super Bowl XLII and won the overtime coin toss.
It wasn't meant to be.
On the second play of overtime, Favre threw an interception to New York's Corey Webster. Three plays later, the Giants -- behind a 47-yard field goal from Tynes -- walked off the frozen tundra with a 23-20 victory and a date with the 18-0 New England Patriots on Feb. 3 in Arizona.
After all that hype, all the build-up and all the manufactured drama ... the season that once had so much promise and proved so many people wrong ended the way that many thought it would unfold all along. The Packers were doomed from the start thanks a nearly non-existent running game and a defensive secondary whose hands-on nature and athletic shortcomings finally came back to haunt them.
In the beginning of the season, people looked at the Packers success and wondered if they would be able to survive late in the season and during the playoffs without a running game.
They weren't.
For all the attention given to Ryan Grant before the game, the feel-good story of Grant handing his old team of defeat never came to fruition; he carried the ball just 13 times for 29 yards, posting an abysmal average of 2.2 yards per carry. His longest run of the day came with about 1:17 left in the third and was good for 13 yards.
Pundits and fans marveled at Grant's numbers down the stretch in the regular season. But how many people paid attention to the fact that his numbers were often bloated by a big, break-out run? Grant had a lot more two- or three-yard runs than he did for four- or five-yard gains. His play-making ability made him a threat, but he looked little like a game-breaker on Sunday night.
The ineptitude of the running game led to the most telling stat of the game: the Packers held the ball for just 22 minutes and 34 seconds and ran just 49 plays. It's hard to score when you don't even have the football.
Favre wasn't blameless, either. His numbers weren't horrible; he completed 19 of 35 attempts for 236 yards. But his 90-yard touchdown strike to Donald Driver inflated those numbers. Greg Jennings was not a factor, with just one catch for 14 yards.
The running game didn't work. Short passes -- namely, slants and screens -- didn't work, and aside from Driver's score, the long ball didn't work. The play-calling wasn't the problem. Instead, it was the execution. More specifically, it was the lack of execution.
"I thought we would put it away earlier than that," Favre said. "I didn't rise up to the occasion as I have in the past. I expect more of myself. It's part of the game. It's very disappointing."
Defensively, the Packers put up little fight. The cornerback tandem of Charles Woodson and Al Harris couldn't stop Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress, who had 11 catches for 154 yards. During the game, Burress made a point to swing by the Packers' bench and let it be known that neither corner was able to stop him.
The defensive line was unable to mount any sort of pressure on Manning, forcing defensive coordinator Joe Philbin to blitz liberally. That left Woodson and Harris in one-on-one coverage.
"He made some amazing catches," Woodson said of Burris. "He made some plays when he had to ... he had a big day."
Of particular concern had to be the Giants' 12-play, 69-yard touchdown drive to open the third quarter. The Packers were called for four penalties on the drive, highlighted by an illegal contact on Harris that wiped out what would have been a 15-yard interception. Two plays later, the Giants were facing third-and-five but were able to keep driving when safety Nick Collins was called for pass interference.
Championship teams win with defense. The Packers weren't able to step up when the time called for it.
Harris is considered one of the best cover-corners in the game, but he did little to show it Sunday. He looked dazed and confused by Burress and not even man-handling the receiver had any effect on the Giants' passing attack.
"It didn't go out way and now we go home," Woodson said.
Coming out of training camp, few expected the Packers would even qualify for the playoffs, let alone wind up hosting the NFC Championship game. A week ago, few people thought that there was any way the Packers could lose this game.
In the end, the Packers that were expected in September finally made an appearance. They were close, so close, to getting back to the Super Bowl but reality reared its ugly head. The Packers have nobody to blame but themselves.
No soup for you: Maybe instead of watching "Seinfeld," Eli Manning spent time studying tape of the Packers' defense. WLUK TV's over-hyped publicity stunt of yanking the New York quarterback's favorite show had little effect. Manning, who was drawing boos from Giants fans a few weeks ago, continued his remarkable turnaround with a 21-of-40, 254-yard performance. He'll be the second Manning in as many years to play in the Super Bowl, following his brother, Peyton, who led Indianapolis to the championship last season.
Weather bulletin: You may not have heard, but it was cold at Lambeau Field Sunday. The temperature at kickoff was one degree below zero and dropped to three below late in the second half with wind chills hovering between 15 and 20 degrees below zero. Medical personnel at Lambeau say they treated about a dozen people for frostbite during the game and one for hypothermia. Officially, it was the third-coldest game-time temperature in NFL history, following the 1967 Ice Bowl and the 1982 playoff game between Cincinnati and San Diego.
Don't try this at home: For a week, we've been overwhelmed with television, radio and newspaper stories about the dangers of cold weather and exposed skin. Why, then, would both teams' players take the field without sleeves. Frostbite, we're told, sets in after just 15 minutes. It's one thing to look tough, but it's another thing to have an injury report for the Super Bowl that includes a handful of players suffering from colds, the flu or hypothermia.
The waiting game: Not long after Tynes' game-winner split the uprights, the focus turned to Favre's future with the team. It's hard to fathom what's worse: the over-saturation of Packers-related stories from the local media, or another off-season of "Favre Watch." Stay tuned.
Lambeau mystique: It was once unheard of for the Packers to lose a playoff game, especially at home. Since Mike Holmgren's departure after the 1998 season, the Packers have lost three post-season games in Green Bay. The Giants, who join Atlanta and Minnesota as the only teams to win playoff games in Green Bay, have now won 10 consecutive road games.
Up next: Favre, Driver, Harris and defensive lineman Aaron Kampman will head to the Pro Bowl next month. They'll be joined on the beach by Mike McCarthy and the rest of the Packers' coaching staff. McCarthy and company will head up the NFC squad in the annual exhibition.
Bright future: Aside from the Favre question, the Packers are in good shape. The team doesn't have many glaring weaknesses, but the nucleus is young enough to make the team a contender next season. GM Ted Thompson's top off-season priority is extending McCarthy's contract, a move that could come in the next few weeks.
Good riddance: It's one thing for fans to dress up in support of their team. But hopefully, this loss will put an end to the disgusting practice of local television news people wearing Packers jerseys and referring to the team in the first-person plural. Anchors wouldn't wear a T-shirt promoting a candidate during election coverage, would they? As Brewers manager Ned Yost once said "let's have a little professionalism involved in the craft."
