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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Proudly wearing his NFC
championship T-shirt and baseball cap, Kerry Collins stood with his
arm around Jim Fassel. Together, they'd taken the New York Giants
where almost nobody thought they could go -- to the Super Bowl.
Fassel did it by guaranteeing his team would make the playoffs.
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Moss senses problems
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Randy Moss had some strong words after Minnesota's 41-0 loss to the New York Giants in the NCF championship game, and the All-Pro receiver wondered about the team's future.
"It's going to be hard for us to win a Super Bowl in
Minnesota," said Moss, who managed only two receptions for 18
yards. "I don't want to say Minnesota will never win a Super Bowl,
but it is going to be hard."
Making matters worse, one star receiver, 35-year-old Cris
Carter, is considering retirement.
Moss, questioned whether the Vikings ever will be a championship team.
"I would love for Cris to come back, but I don't want him to
come back and have his hopes set on the Super Bowl," Moss said.
"It's going to be hard for us to win a Super Bowl in Minnesota.
"I don't know if he'd be coming back for Super Bowl reasons or
for football reasons. I don't want to say Minnesota will never win
a Super Bowl, but it's going to be hard."
-- The Associated Press
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"It was the match, and the fire has been burning since then,"
said the coach, who made the prediction following a loss to Detroit
that left the Giants 7-4.
They're now 14-4.
"I think we shocked a lot of people, but we didn't shock
ourselves," Fassel said.
Collins added the most emphatic touch to the Giants' stunning
season, throwing a career-high five touchdown passes in a 41-0
shocker Sunday over the Minnesota Vikings, the biggest rout in NFC
championship history. Collins tied a playoff TD passing record set
in 1943 by Sid Luckman.
"I wanted this game," said Collins, whose career has been
marked more by controversy than success. "You don't know what the
future holds and my attitude was, `I'm going to take care of
today.'
"All week, people were talking about the matchup of our offense
against their defense, but we knew we could throw the ball."
They did, to the tune of 380 yards in the air, and 518 overall.
His teammates had their way with the Vikings despite being
underdogs. Minnesota, which rarely plays well outdoors, was a
2-point favorite.
"This team was referred to as the worst team ever to win the
home-field advantage in the National Football League," Giants
co-owner Wellington Mara said. "And today, on our field of painted
mud, we proved we're the worst team ever to win the NFC
championship. In two weeks, we're going to try to become the worst
team ever to win the Super Bowl."
|  | | Ron Dixon and the Giants offense netted 518 total yards, compared to 114 by the Vikings. |
They'll get the chance for their third Super Bowl victory when
they play the Baltimore Ravens on Jan. 28 in Tampa, site of the
Giants' title victory in 1991. The Ravens beat the Oakland Raiders
16-3 Sunday in the AFC championship game.
The Vikings became the first NFC championship shutout victim
since the Giants beat Washington 17-0 en route to winning the Super
Bowl following the 1986 season. It was their first shutout loss in
158 games since Dennis Green became coach in 1992.
"Nothing we tried to do today worked," Green said. "You think
you know what the team can do, and then nothing works."
All-Pro receiver Randy Moss was so distressed that he wondered
about the team's future.
"It's going to be hard for us to win a Super Bowl in
Minnesota," said Moss, who managed only two receptions for 18
yards. "I don't want to say Minnesota will never win a Super Bowl,
but it is going to be hard."
Collins, whose career was revived when he joined the Giants in
1999 following controversial stops in Carolina and New Orleans and
bouts with alcoholism, was remarkable from the outset.
He threw for four touchdowns and 338 yards in the first half,
then added a fifth TD pass just 2:54 into the third period. He
finished 28-for-39 for 381 yards and waved to the crowd from the
sideline when his stats were announced.
"His decisions got better and better," guard Glenn Parker
said. "It was a wonderful thing to see. This was the most directed
I have ever seen him. He was playing with an intense heat, but he
never let it get out of control."
With Collins and receivers Ike Hilliard (10 catches, 155 yards)
and Amani Toomer (six for 81) dominating, Minnesota's fearsome trio
of Daunte Culpepper, Moss and Cris Carter was rendered invisible by
New York's stingy defense.
Culpepper was held to 78 yards passing and threw three
interceptions. Carter had three receptions for 24 yards in what
might be his final game of a 14-year career.
"We made a lot of mistakes and played bad football," Carter
said. "I've done every thing I've had to do to win a
championship."
Collins had the Giants up 14-0 before some in the blue-clad,
towel-waving crowd had settled into their seats.
By halftime, it was 34-0, the largest such margin in NFC
championship game history. But the Giants (14-4) kept rolling,
right into the NFL's title game.
When the post-game celebrations began -- to Bruce Springsteen's
"Glory Days," -- the players gathered around a makeshift stage as
the championship trophy was presented to co-owners Mara and Robert
Tisch.
The Giants, hardly known for a fast-break offense, struck so
suddenly that they looked like, well, the Vikings. Just 2:13 into
the game, they led 14-0.
Collins probably could have thrown left-handed and still hit his
wide-open receivers on the opening drive. Operating against
Minnesota's injury-depleted secondary -- defensive backs Orlando
Thomas and Kenny Wright were sidelined -- he hit three straight
passes, with Hilliard flying past Keith Thibodeaux for the 46-yard
touchdown at 1:57.
When the Vikings (12-6) misplayed the ensuing kickoff, Lyle West
recovered for New York. On the next play, Greg Comella sneaked down
the right sideline for his first career touchdown, an 18-yard pass
from Collins.
Although Collins was picked off twice in the first quarter, it
mattered little. Minnesota, which looked so efficient in last
week's playoff victory over New Orleans, had returned to the
sputtering form that marked its three-game losing streak to finish
the season.
Culpepper, in his second playoff game, was completely
overmatched. He rarely got time to find his star receivers. And
they weren't open, anyway.
"The big key was getting in Culpepper's face," said cornerback
Jason Sehorn, who mainly covered Moss. "We did not give them free
releases down the field. Receivers don't like to get hit and we hit
them all day long."
With the Vikings defense a sieve and Minnesota's special teams
collapsing -- Mitch Berger got off a 26-yard punt on which he fell
down -- the Vikings had no shot at getting back to the Super Bowl
for the first time in 24 years.
The Giants made sure of that with a 24-point second quarter.
Brad Daluiso made a 21-yard field goal to open the period. Collins
hit Joe Jurevicius for an 8-yard score. After Daluiso added a
22-yarder, Collins closed the remarkable first half with a 7-yard
pass to Hilliard on third down.
New York had 386 yards to 45 for Minnesota. The 34 points
surpassed the Giants' season high for a game. Hilliard already had
eight catches for 146 yards.
When Culpepper fumbled on a sack on the first play of the second
half, the Vikings might as well have taken the fans' white towels
and begun waving them -- in surrender.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Minnesota Clubhouse
NY Giants Clubhouse
Garber: Collins answers critics
Frozen Moment: Vikes fumbled away hope
Fassel's guarantee delivered for Giants
Vikings didn't have chance to start
Notebook: Green shut out for first time
Giants' D shuts down Vikings' big guns
Brown's 16th season is sweet
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jim Fassel and the Giants talk with reporters after their NFC championship victory.
RealVideo: | 28.8
Giants head coach Jim Fassel says his team has one game left.
avi: 2679 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Micheal Strahan talks with Amani Toomer after the Giants' shutout victory over the Vikings for the NFC Championship.
avi: 3173 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Daunte Culpepper credits New York's defensive line for the shut out victory over Minnesota.
wav: 512 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Tiki Barber is shocked in how the Giants dominated the Vikings in the NFC championship game.
wav: 506 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Randy Moss sounds off after being shut out by the Giants in the NFC championship game.
wav: 321 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Giants owner Wellington Mara says in two weeks his team is going to try to become the worst team ever to win the Super Bowl.
wav: 285 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Lomas Brown says he is proud to be a New York Giant.
wav: 378 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Jessie Armstead says Giants defense coordinator John Fox didn't want any points on the board.
wav: 333 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Dennis Green breaks down the defensive pressure the Giants put on the Vikings offense.
wav: 182 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Kerry Collins Official Site
Randy Moss Official Site
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