INDIANAPOLIS —Eli Manning engineered the last-minute touchdown to give New York the lead, then started celebrating as Tom Brady’s desperation pass hit the ground in the last act of the Super Bowl.

After guiding the New York Giants to a 21-17 victory over Brady’s New England Patriots on Sunday night, Manning has two Super Bowl championships and two Most Valuable Player awards to prove that he’s the hottest star in the NFL.

“This isn’t about one person,” Manning insisted. “This is about a team coming together.”

It was a Giants team led by a quarterback who months ago claimed—to disbelief throughout the league—that he belonged in the same stratosphere as Brady. Now he has proved it.

Just as he did four years ago when the Giants ruined New England’s perfect season, Manning guided them 88 yards to the decisive touchdown, which the Patriots didn’t contest as Ahmad Bradshaw ran 6 yards with 57 seconds left.

“Certainly Eli has had a great season. He made some great throws in the fourth quarter, and they deserved to win,” Brady said.

The Giants got some help from Patriots coach Bill Belichick, whose late-game risk didn’t turn out as he planned. Belichick reasoned the Giants would run the clock down and kick a short field goal, so he gambled by allowing the six points.