It was not as close as the final score suggests, as the records tumbled at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Tom Brady broke Peyton Manning's mark of 49 touchdown passes in a season and Randy Moss eclipsed Jerry Rice’s total for touchdown receptions as the New England Patriots became the first team in National Football League (NFL) history to finish a regular season with a perfect record of 16-0 and only the second to complete an undefeated regular season in the modern era.

Only four teams have ever won 15 games in a season: the San Francisco 49ers in 1984, the 1985 Chicago Bears, the 1998 Minnesota Vikings, and the 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers. In 1972 the Miami Dolphins won all 14 of their regular-season games en route to a landmark 17-0 record and a Super Bowl triumph. This will be the Patriots’ objective now and, if they go all the way to win Super Bowl XLII in Arizona, they will be feted as the greatest team in NFL history.

Their final regular season game was no anti-climax either. The Giants made certain of this when quarterback Eli Manning completed a seven-yard reception to Brandon Jacobs to open the scoring, the culmination of a 74-yard drive which included a spectacular 52-yard completion to Plaxico Burress.

The Patriots hit back with a 37-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski and seized the lead when Brady completed a four-yard touchdown pass to Moss. But the Giants were up for the fight, inspired by the opportunity to prevent the Patriots from making history and when Domenik Hixon, in his first game as the his team’s primary kick returner, went 74 yards for a touchdown just 11 seconds after Brady and Moss had tied their respective records the atmosphere inside Giants Stadium was electric.

Gostkowski kicked two more field goals to give the Patriots a 16-14 lead with 1:59 remaining in the first half but Manning orchestrated another compelling 85-yard drive before throwing to Kevin Boss in the end zone to secure a 21-16 lead for the Giants, only the second time the Patriots had trailed at half-time all season.

It got even better for the Giants. Manning’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Burress increased their lead to 28-16 with 9:12 left in the third quarter and the Patriots’ perfect record was seriously imperilled. But Brady did not panic, nor did head coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots found a way to win, just as they have done all season. Brady led a 73-yard drive which ended with Laurence Maroney’s six-yard run to make it 28-23 with 4:00 remaining in the third quarter. As the game entered the final period, the Patriots struck their best form. Brady found Moss with a 65-yard touchdown pass and Maroney’s two-point conversion gave the Patriots a 31-28 lead.

Manning was intercepted again and the Patriots made their final 52-yard drive a telling one as Maroney ran in for his second touchdown to secure a 38-28 lead, which never looked vulnerable. The Giants did score another touchdown when Manning completed a three-yard reception to Burress but there was 1:04 left on the clock and the Patriots recovered the onside kick.

Brady reached 50 touchdown passes and Moss 23 touchdown receptions in a memorable game as the Patriots finished with a final tally for the regular season of 589 points, another record. “I think it’s a lot of hard work,” Brady declared. “I’m proud of the way this team responded. We’re losing there in the second half and came out and played some of our better football.”

Don Shula, the legendary head coach of the record-breaking 1972 Miami Dolphins, was effusive in his praise of the Patriots’ accomplishment. “Going undefeated during the regular season is a remarkable achievement,” Shula said. “I know firsthand how difficult it is to win every game and, just as we did in 1972, the Patriots have done a great job concentrating on each week’s opponent and not letting any other distractions interrupt that focus. If they go on to complete an undefeated season, I will be the first to congratulate Coach Belichick and the Patriot organisation.”