GLENDALE, Ariz. – Forget the perfect season.

Forget the Eli Manning cutdowns.

But remember this, always and forever: The New York Giants’ stunning 17-14 win against previously undefeated New England on Sunday night in Super Bowl XLII will go down as one of the biggest upsets in sports history.

“The world expected a great game tonight, and you got an awesome game,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced as he presented the Vince Lombardi championship trophy to the Giants.

Said Giants defensive end Michael Strahan: “I think we shocked the world. Hey, maybe we shocked ourselves.”

This was supposed to be the night New England put the last touch on a 19-0 season to become the first NFL team in 35 years to finish the year without a loss.

When quarterback Tom Brady led a dramatic drive for a go-ahead touchdown with 2minutes, 42seconds remaining, it looked like the Patriots would win in dramatic fashion. But Manning and the Giants had a checkmate drive of their own.

With time ticking down in the biggest game of his four-year NFL career, Manning methodically led the Giants downfield for 83 yards. He eluded a sack and hurled a 32-yard pass to David Tyree, who jumped high to make the catch in traffic.

Giants coach Tom Coughlin said of the completion: “That might be one of the greatest plays all time in the Super Bowl.”

Manning later completed a 12-yarder to Steve Smith.

Then, with 39 seconds remaining, he lobbed a 13-yard pass to his left that wide receiver Plaxico Burress caught for the winning touchdown.

It was a storybook moment, because it was Burress who boldly predicted the Giants would beat the Patriots 23-17.

So what if he was off by a few points.

When Burress scored, fullback Madison Hedgecock jumped into Manning’s arms. Upstairs in a luxury box, Peyton Manning hurled his hands into the air.

For the second straight year, a Manning was the winning Super Bowl quarterback.

Peyton, who won with the Colts last year, always has been the bigger star of the two brothers. But Eli’s win Sunday gave him a title five years earlier in his NFL career than when Peyton first won his.

So much for the naysayers who have questioned whether Eli’s a big-game quarterback. He had no playoff victories before this season, but went 4-0 in the playoffs to give Coughlin his first Super Bowl title.

Coughlin, much like Manning, has survived critics who wanted to run him out of New York. After last season, team officials considered firing Coughlin but instead gave him a contract extension.

Sunday was their payday.

It was a bitter defeat for Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who kept his postgame remarks brief and basic.

“They did a good job,” he said of the Giants. “They played well defensively. They’re a good defensive football team.”

The Giants were the underdogs who came to town dressed in black and talking smack.

They said their black attire last Monday was a sign of how serious they were about the game. Some said it was to foreshadow a funeral for the Patriots.

Burress’ prediction was so brash that Brady admitted he was insulted. Brady told reporters he was surprised Burress expected to win but was disappointed he had predicted the Patriots would only score 17 points.

As it turned out, the Patriots managed 14 points, their lowest total of the season.

The Giants defense bullied New England for much of the game. They sacked Brady five times for losses totaling 37 yards. And they hit him many more times than that, causing some of his passes to be way off target.

During the final seconds, all Brady could do was throw long passes and hope for a miracle that didn’t come.

The Patriots finished 18-1. The 1972 Miami Dolphins, who were 17-0, remain the only unbeaten team in NFL history.

The Giants are 14-6 – and world champions.