In honor of Peter King’s “Monday Morning Quarterback” on si.com, here are 10 things I think I think following the Super Bowl:

1. This was a great game. Sometimes Super Bowl games end up being a bit one-sided, as the team that’s been the strongest, or is perceived to be the strongest, comes out strong and the underdog just can’t ever get it together. I’m not sure if tonight’s game was better than the final season game these two teams played a month or so ago, but it was still a really good game.

2. Howie Long just said on Fox that Eli Manning just matured right before our eyes. I disagree; I think that happened when the Giants played the Pats in the last regular season game. Even though the Giants lost that game, it still felt like they won because they played the Pats so well and came so close. The Giants came into that game on a roll, and even though they lost, they knew how close they’d come, and that given the chance to play them again, they could probably pull off a victory over the Patriots.

3. Michael Strahan–what a season out of the blue! The guy missed training camp because he wasn’t sure he was even going to play this year. While the other Giants were sweating it out in training camp, he was layin’ out on the beach. He decided he’d come back and play, and he had an incredible season and played a fantastic game tonight.

4. They named Eli the MVP, which I agree with, but I think he edged out the entire defense by a hair. They were all over Tom Brady all night long. They were the MVP for the first three quarters; Eli and the offense finally caught up with them in the fourth quarter.

5. The play of the game to me was on the final drive when Eli looked like he was locked up in the arms of at least two or three Patriots players, and somehow he pulls out of the pile and makes a huge throw to David Tyree, who makes an amazing catch that moves them down the field and keeps the drive alive.

6. The Patriots only had one drive where they looked like the Patriots we’ve seen all season, where Tom Brady was in a rhythm and had the confidence that they were going to drive down the field and score. This drive came when there was about six minutes left in the game. They did drive down field and score, putting them ahead 14-10, with less than 3 minutes left.

7. Wes Welker is an incredible athlete and team player.

8. Why did Bill Belichick go for it on 4th and 13 on the Giants 31? They could have kicked a field goal and gotten some points, but instead, they hand the ball to the Giants. I know the Giants weren’t able to score on the drive after that, but still … points are points.

9. I think all the pressure was on the Patriots, and maybe that gave the Giants a teeny edge. Winning the Super Bowl is pressure enough, I imagine, but then add to that the pressure of winning one more game to complete a perfect season and go 19-0; it must have just been huge. The Giants came in as underdogs, and if they’d lost, it would’ve been what most people expected, so it would be disappointing but not shocking. I also wonder if the success of the Patriots’ season finally caught up to them, and they–not the Giants–got caught up in all the hoopla. The Pats just seemed flat.

10. The word I’d use to describe the Giants’ play tonight: scrappy. They just refused to give up, and they stood in there and fought and scrapped and played as a team till the clock ran out. Literally. After the Patriots failed to score on their last drive, there was 2 seconds on the clock. One ticked off, and Coach Belichick trotted onto the field to congratulate Tom Coughlin. Then everybody ran onto the field, and the officials had to push everyone back to the sidelines so they could complete the game. Eli and the Giants ran onto the field to take one more snap, and Belichick was heading into the tunnel.

They were scrappy, and they played with heart, and now the Giants are the Super Bowl champions. Speaking of playing with heart, I’ve heard that Coach Coughlin opened his heart and his office door to his players a little more this year, and it looks like it made a huge difference. Good for him. Good for Eli, Tyree, Strahan, Osi, Tuck, Boss, Plaxico and all the Giants. I love it when the underdog comes through.

Bill Belichick was disappointed, I’m sure, and I know he did meet Tom Coughlin at midfield to congratulate him when there was still one second on the clock, so I guess he thought he didn’t need to stay on the field for the Giants’ last play, but that was pretty poor sportsmanship to just run off the field before the game was actually over.

Who knows what the whole story is about spygate. I doubt the Patriots are the only team to ever try to get an edge by taping other teams when they aren’t supposed to, but to me it cast a big shadow over them, and I still think that needs to be investigated further.

It’s hard to tell if the Patriots are just in shock or what, but they don’t seem nearly as disappointed as I thought they’d be. Brady and Belichick both said basically that the Giants just made a few more plays than we did. That’s it? You just lost the Super Bowl, AND lost your chance to have a perfect season, and that’s all you’ve got? Maybe it’s been so long since they were outplayed, they just don’t know what to say.

All I can say is congratulations, Giants. I love it when the underdog wins.