 By playing his starters, he risked losing additional players on an already banged up roster playing against a heavily favored Patriots team, which was playing for the history books to go undefeated in the regular season.The Giants were playing for pride and momentum, and nobody had realized at the time that this game eventually became the preview of the season's Super Bowl Super Bowl XLII.The Giants were the final team to have a chance to end the Patriots' shot at a perfect season (not including playoffs).