PHOENIX, Arizona  -- New England's failure to protect star quarterback Tom Brady proved the decisive factor as the Patriots flunked their chance of a perfect 19-0 season and Super Bowl glory.



Brady is sacked by defensive end Michael Strahan in the third guarter of the Super Bowl.



Brady has weaved his magic behind an all but impregnable offensive line all season but not on Sunday as he was sacked five times in the 17-14 defeat to the New York Giants.



"They have some great pressure schemes, obviously some great pass rushers," Brady said.



"Once we kind of got the idea of what we were doing, I thought we handled it much better, but we didn't get the ball in the end zone enough."



Coming in, Brady had been sacked a career-low 24 times this season playing behind a line that produced three Pro Bowlers in Koppen, left tackle Matt Light and left guard Logan Mankins.



Throw in right guard Stephen Neal and right tackle Nick Kaczur, and Brady played most of his record-breaking season not having to worry much about getting hit by bloodthirsty defenders.



"I like when I don't get touched," Brady said earlier in the week.



Then, disaster struck -- in the form of an all-out, pressure-packed swarming defensive attack by the Giants -- in the worst possible setting. It was the first time Brady had been sacked as many as five times since the New York Jets did it on Sept. 21, 2003.



New England had no answer for the Giants' bulldozing defense.



"If I could tell you, we'd have it fixed," running back Kevin Faulk said. "At the same time, they outplayed us."



They sure did, and left Brady wondering what hit him. Brady simply had no time to find Randy Moss and his other targets on a regular basis against the Giants.



With 19 seconds left in the game and the Patriots facing a do-or-die scenario, Brady was sacked for the final time when Jay Alford pulled him down at New England's 16-yard line.



Brady was left with nothing to do but try two straight desperation heaves to Moss to no avail.



"I think their intensity from the beginning snap to the end of the game was really higher than ours," Moss said. "We just couldn't meet that intensity."



With help from their linemen, the Patriots set NFL records for points scored and total touchdowns, while Brady broke the league mark for TD passes and Moss set the record for scoring receptions. That high-powered offense was held to a season-low 14 points in the Super Bowl -- mostly because it couldn't get time.



"They played well defensively," coach Bill Belichick said. "They've been able to rush. They led the league in sacks, they rushed all year. They are a good defensive football team. They played well."



"We all could've done things better tonight," Brady said. E-mail to a friend
PHOENIX , Arizona -- New England 's failure to protect star quarterback Tom Brady proved the decisive factor as the Patriots flunked their chance of a perfect 19 - 0 season and Super Bowl glory . Brady is sacked by defensive end Michael Strahan in the third guarter of the Super Bowl . Brady has weaved his magic behind an all but impregnable offensive line all season but not on Sunday as he was sacked five times in the 17 - 14 defeat to the New York Giants . " They have some great pressure schemes , obviously some great pass rushers , " Brady said . " Once we kind of got the idea of what we were doing , I thought we handled it much better , but we did n't get the ball in the end zone enough . " Coming in , Brady had been sacked a career - low 24 times this season playing behind a line that produced three Pro Bowlers in Koppen , left tackle Matt Light and left guard Logan Mankins . Throw in right guard Stephen Neal and right tackle Nick Kaczur , and Brady played most of his record - breaking season not having to worry much about getting hit by bloodthirsty defenders . " I like when I do n't get touched , " Brady said earlier in the week . Then , disaster struck -- in the form of an all - out , pressure - packed swarming defensive attack by the Giants -- in the worst possible setting . It was the first time Brady had been sacked as many as five times since the New York Jets did it on Sept. 21 , 2003 . New England had no answer for the Giants ' bulldozing defense . " If I could tell you , we 'd have it fixed , " running back Kevin Faulk said . " At the same time , they outplayed us . " They sure did , and left Brady wondering what hit him . Brady simply had no time to find Randy Moss and his other targets on a regular basis against the Giants . With 19 seconds left in the game and the Patriots facing a do - or - die scenario , Brady was sacked for the final time when Jay Alford pulled him down at New England 's 16-yard line . Brady was left with nothing to do but try two straight desperation heaves to Moss to no avail . " I think their intensity from the beginning snap to the end of the game was really higher than ours , " Moss said . " We just could n't meet that intensity . " With help from their linemen , the Patriots set NFL records for points scored and total touchdowns , while Brady broke the league mark for TD passes and Moss set the record for scoring receptions . That high - powered offense was held to a season - low 14 points in the Super Bowl -- mostly because it could n't get time . " They played well defensively , " coach Bill Belichick said . " They 've been able to rush . They led the league in sacks , they rushed all year . They are a good defensive football team . They played well . " " We all could 've done things better tonight , " Brady said . E - mail to a friend
what were they aiming for
what were they aiming for
a perfect 19-0 season and Super Bowl glory.
a perfect 19-0 season and Super Bowl glory.