INDIANAPOLIS, USA (AP) — Eli Manning led another fourth-quarter touchdown drive and won his second Super Bowl MVP on Sunday night, leading the Giants to a 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots that provided a pulsating finish to a season that started with turmoil and a lockout.

"It's been a wild game," said Manning, who now has one more Super Bowl title than his older brother, Peyton. "It's been a wild season."

It was also a wild finish, that featured a rare scenario where the Patriots willingly allowed the Giants to score a last-minute touchdown — and New York running back Ahmad Bradshaw almost reluctantly went into the end zone for the decisive score.

The Giants got down to the six-yard line with just over a minute left and the Patriots down to one timeout. New York could have run the clock down to a few seconds and kicked a field goal.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick did the calculations and decided on a trade-off: Give up a touchdown for some time. New England pulled up and allowed Bradshaw to run the final six yards with 57 seconds left.

Once Bradshaw realised what was happening, he tried to stop at the one-yard line to keep the clock going but ended up falling backward into the end zone.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady would get one last chance with the Giants defence bearing down on him, as it always does.

But the Patriots got only as far as midfield with five seconds left. Brady threw a desperation pass into the end zone, where the ball was batted around in a scrum before falling incomplete just beyond the reach of All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski, bringing the spray of confetti from above.

"You come down to one play at the end," Brady said. "If we make it, we're world champs. If we don't, we're wishing we were."

A wild finish was certainly fitting.

The Giants finished with a 13-7 record but almost didn't make the play-offs, needing a lot of help at 7-7 with two games left in the regular season. Their defence finally came together, and Manning gave them a chance in every game with his penchant for comebacks — a league-record 15 touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Of course, his greatest career comeback was in the Super Bowl in 2008, when the Patriots were undefeated and Manning led a late scoring drive that included an enduring moment — the incredible catch David Tyree made by trapping the ball against his helmet.

The Patriots (15-4) had a chance to avoid more such history on Sunday. Brady, trying to match boyhood hero Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw with four Super Bowl titles, had New England in range to put it away late in the fourth quarter.

Wes Welker dropped a pass at the 20-yard line with four minutes left, forcing a punt that gave the Giants another chance trailing 17-15.

"It comes to the biggest moment of my life, and (I) don't come up with it," a red-eyed Welker said after the match. "It's one of those plays I've made a thousand times."

Manning's turn for more Super Bowl magic.

He threw a perfect 38-yard pass down the sideline to Mario Manningham, sending the ball between two defensive backs barreling down on the receiver. Manningham got both feet down before getting smacked out of bounds in front of the Patriots' bench, a catch that was upheld on replay and reminded the 68,658 fans at Lucas Oil Stadium — one in particular — about that other catch four years earlier.

"In those situations, you are always looking to see who is going to be the guy," Tyree said, from inside the Giants locker room.

Once Manningham came down with it, the Giants sensed things had turned their way, just like four years earlier.

"I think they are both spectacular catches," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "I think with Mario's earlier tonight, the way he kept his feet inbounds and held onto the ball (while) going out of bounds was a remarkable thing."

The Patriots were thinking the same thing, too.

"I thought that play they made on our sideline was a phenomenal throw and catch," Brady said. "That got them going."

Brady set a Super Bowl record by completing 16 consecutive passes earlier in the game, topping Montana's record. When he needed several quick completions to get moving in the last minute, he couldn't do it.

Brady has had a tough time against this Giants defence. During the regular season, it pressured him into mistakes during a 24-20 New York win in Foxborough. The Patriots went on to win their next 10, a streak that ended when Brady faced that same defence on Sunday.

It just seems to have his number. On his first pass of the game, Brady was pressured by defensive end Justin Tuck in the end zone and threw the ball to an open spot downfield to get rid of it, resulting in a safety.

By contrast, Manning didn't make any big mistakes and, again, was at his best under the last-minute pressure.

"He's become confident over time, kind of grew into it," said his father, former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning. "I always felt like you have to experience those situations before you become confident. He's certainly had his share."

And nobody will question anything he says again.

Manning was criticised for insisting before the season that he's an elite quarterback. Then, with the Giants struggling, he was overshadowed by a different Manning drama.

Peyton Manning and the Colts were hoping to reach a Super Bowl in their stadium. Instead, the quarterback had neck operations and the team came apart, prompting ownership to clean house. The week leading up to the Super Bowl was overshadowed in town by talk about Peyton's future.

Eli insisted he wasn't bothered by sharing the spotlight with his brother. In the fourth quarter on Sunday, he had it all to himself.

Manning was 10 of 14 for 118 yards in the final quarter with his seventh game-winning drive of the season. Overall, he completed 30 of 40 for 296 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions, leading the Giants to their fourth Super Bowl championship — two behind Pittsburgh for the record.

In the end, a Manning got to hoist the silver Super Bowl trophy in Indianapolis.

"It just feels good to win a Super Bowl," Eli Manning said. "Doesn't matter where you are."

The NFL season finished on a high after being hit by a 4 1/2-month lockout last year following a breakdown in talks between players and team owners over a new, 10-year collective bargaining agreement. A new deal was eventually ratified by players on August 4.

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