As the New York Giants drove down the field toward a potential game-tying touchdown in the final moments of Sunday's 27-20 loss to the San Francisco 49ers Giants head coach Tom Coughlin figured the game was headed to overtime.
"I thought we were in perfect control. I thought we would get there, score, put it into overtime, win it in overtime," Coughlin said. "We've done very, very well in those situations."
Why wouldn't Coughlin believe that? Five times this season the Giants have rallied for fourth-quarter victories, including a week ago against the New England Patriots.
"We definitely believed right up until that last pass that we were going to score there and tie it up," said defensive end Justin Tuck. "Unfortunately we fell a little short."
Coughlin gave credit to the 8-1 49ers, winners of seven straight games.
"They're a good team, they're a sound team," said Coughlin. "They play very good defense. They don't give you much."