It was, many veteran observers acknowledged, the most surprising result they had ever seen in an NFL game. As it unfolded, things got more and more curious in an Alice in Wonderland kind of way. Remember, the Giants (now 14-4) were the NFC's top seed and favored to lose the game.

How phenomenally odd was it, then, to see Jason Garrett, of all people, taking snaps for the G-Men early in the fourth quarter? Stranger things have happened, you say? The only thing farther out than this might be a Trent Dilfer-led team in the Super Bowl.

Did former Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor, taking one for the team, take the Minnesota secondary out for a little recreational, uh, adventure on Saturday night? Or was it just Collins and a terrific gameplan?

"We felt our wide receivers against their secondary was the best matchup we had," said Giants head coach Jim Fassel. "Sean and I are usually on the same page. It was a mutual decision that we were going to attack them.

"There have been a lot of questions about 'Can Kerry step forward and carry this team? Can he do it?' Well, he answered that bell today. No doubt about it. If anybody has any question, they probably didn't watch the game."

Even after the Giants advanced to the NFC championship game, the cynics (yes, this one included) wondered if the offense was good enough to play in the Super Bowl. This question was asked over and over again: Could the Giants' defense hold the high-powered Vikings' offense low enough to give the Giants' vanilla offense a chance to stay in the game?

Doubtful, considering the weather at Giants Stadium was expected to border on Spring-like. Doubtful, considering the Vikings were throwing Randy Moss, Cris Carter, Robert Smith and Daunte Culpepper into the mix, while the Giants countered with -- who? -- Tiki Barber, Amani Toomer, Ike Hilliard and Collins?

Well, the defense was so superb a safety would have won the game for the Giants. The offense? It was the United States in the Gulf War against Iraq and Sadahm Hussein a decade ago. The line in that contest was almost off the board, and the U.S. still covered the spread. The Giants were even better against the Vikings, torching them for 34 points in the first half alone.

Apology accepted?

The Giants have a noble tradition of quarterbacks that goes back to Y.A. Tittle, Charlie Conerly, Fran Tarkenton and Phil Simms but none of them ever did in a playoff game what Collins did against the Vikings. He and his receivers bent, folded and mutilated the Minnesota secondary early and often.

Collins broke the Giants playoff passing record -- in the first half. He completed 23 of 34 passes for 338 yards and four touchdowns. This, contrasted sharply with his 12-for-19, 125-yard effort last week against the Eagles.

"We're just running their offense is all," one Giants front office type said smugly at the half.

Wide receiver Hilliard caught 10 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Toomer, the other starting wideout, caught six passes for another 88 yards and a touchdown. Fullback Greg Comella was four-for-36 and another touchdown. Rookie wideout Ron Dixon caught two balls for 62 yards and Joe Jurevicius caught a nifty 8-yard touchdown pass.

It was only five years ago that Collins, a 24-year-old, second-year quarterback with the Carolina Panthers found himself in the NFC Championship game. Collins and the Panthers were toasted 30-13 at Green Bay and it set in motion a long, painful slide for Collins.

His drinking became a very public problem. Racist comments dogged him. His mechanics were a mess when he was waived by the Panthers midway through the 1998 season. He caught on with the New Orleans Saints before the Giants signed him as a free agent before the 1999 season.

Did he wonder if he'd ever reach the championship pinnacle again?

"Sure, you wonder," Collins said. "It is that unknown that you don't know about. You don't know what the future holds and my attitude was, `I'm going to take care of what I need to take care of today. That's going to give me the best chance to do good things later.'

"It's just reaffirming. It's reaffirming when you get to this point, of the things that you're doing and the things you're trying to do the right way. It would not have been possible without this opportunity, and I'm very humbled by that."