Brandon Spikes
The New England linebacker was tied with Jerod Mayo for a team-high 11 tackles, forced one fumble and recovered another that was negated by penalty.
-When asked by The Boston Herald about the Patriots’ decision to let the Giants score a touchdown with 57 seconds left: “It killed me. When the call came in to let them score I kind of was like, ‘What?’. I’m here to do a job, and it’s my job to play defense and (not) let them score. … It definitely was tough.”
-When asked about the heartbreaking loss: “I never dreamed (about) this part of the game. A good team has to lose, and that’s just how the game goes. Right now, words can’t even really express how I feel right now.”
-When asked if the Patriots could make it back to the Super Bowl: “Absolutely we can get here. We won’t have the same defensive unit, we know that. I’m pretty sure there are going to be some changes — there’s always changes in this business.”
-When asked about the Patriots not capitalizing on the Giants’ two fumbles: “We planned to put pressure on the ball, and that was our whole game plan,” Spikes said. “It was just a step for us. They made plays and they were in the right spot, but my hat goes off to their team. They fought to the end, and they deserved this one.”
-Spikes tweeted “Suicidal thoughts…” on Sunday night at 10:49 p.m.
Aaron Hernandez
The Patriots’ tight end led the team in receptions (8) and receiving yards (67) while scoring on a 12-yard touchdown pass.
-When asked by CBS reporters how he felt after the game: “Heartbroken”.
-When asked about the Giants: “They made more plays than us. We’ve got to make more plays.”
-When asked about the last-second Hail Mary pass, which was intended for him: “We knew it was going to be a toss-up and I saw it in the air. The defender got up more than me.”
-When asked what stood out the most in the loss: “That we should have won.”
Gerard Warren
The Patriots’ defensive lineman had two tackles.
-When asked by The Boston Globe how he felt after the loss: “It’s like almost getting to the top of Mount Everest, then falling back down. Today’s a tough day, a tough pill to swallow. Hopefully we’ll get another chance.”
Justin Trattou
Trattou was a member of the Giants’ scout team in preparation for the Super Bowl. He appeared in six games for New York during the season. Trattou was born and raised a Giants fan.
-When asked whether he was confident that quarterback Eli Manning would orchestrate the game-winning drive with 3:46 left: “Just from watching him this whole year, I had not one ounce of doubt,” Trattou said, according to FOX Sports Florida. “This year he has just taken over as the clutch quarterback in the game. He showed again (Sunday) night why they pay him the big bucks. It was a whole team effort, but I definitely had a ton of confidence in Eli to go down there and finish it out.”
-When asked how he felt after the victory: “It was definitely a crazy experience to win that game. All the confetti was like winning the national championship game. That was one of the best feelings of my life and now this ranks right up there.”
-When asked further about the experience of winning the Super Bowl: “It’s a dream come true. I got a little bit of sleep, but it’s definitely been a very exciting time. I grew up a born-and-raised Giants fan.”
-When asked about his future with the Giants: “There’s always a ton of people that want to say, ‘He’ll never make it, blah, blah, blah.’ And then sure enough, I go there and beat about 10 other guys at defensive end during camp, make it on the practice squad, and then the first week of the year I ended up playing about 15 snaps on defense. I played on special teams and a little bit of defense here and there on the best D-line in the country. I ended up going out there and giving it a shot and it ended up as good as it could have.”
