It was long ago, but Steve Grogan, Pete Brock, and Steve Nelson can't help but see the spitting image of the 1985 Patriots in this season's New York Giants.
"There are certainly a lot of things that are similar," said Brock, who was the center on a very good offensive line in '85. "Having to win three playoff games on the road against all odds, to being given no chance to win the AFC Championship - us against the Dolphins and the Giants against the Packers - and now heading into a Super Bowl against a juggernaut like the Patriots. Back then, we were off to face the Bears, who were truly an incredible football team."
The '85 Patriots won three of their last four regular-season games to finish 11-5, tied for second with the Jets in the AFC East and good enough for a wild-card playoff berth. They beat the Jets, Raiders, and the AFC East champion Dolphins on the road in the postseason.
Likewise, the Giants beat Tampa Bay, Dallas, and Green Bay on the road in the playoffs. In fact, they have won 10 consecutive games on the road.
Few gave the Patriots a chance against Miami in the AFC Championship - the Fish hadn't lost to the Patriots at the Orange Bowl since 1966 - but the 31-14 victory culminated an improbable year for coach Raymond Berry's squad.
"The Miami game was so emotional," said Brock. "It broke a 19-year losing streak at the Orange Bowl. It's not an excuse for why we lost so badly [in the Super Bowl], just an explanation. Maybe it'll be the same thing for the Giants, who will have come off an emotional overtime win in frigid weather at Lambeau Field, the same way nobody gave us a chance."
Grogan, who was the backup quarterback to Tony Eason during the playoff run, believes the similarities are striking, but some strengths are reversed.
"It turns out we faced perhaps the greatest defensive team of all time, and it looks as if the Giants might be against the greatest offensive team of all time," said Grogan, who relieved Eason early in the 46-10 shellacking in Super Bowl XX after Eason appeared bewildered by the Chicago defense.
"It just seems that in our case we expended so much energy over the three road games we won just to get there. We had that one week off and I think we came off our momentum high and just collapsed. I'm not saying the Giants are going to do that. It might be totally different for them, but that was certainly the case with us."
The '85 Patriots spent the week in the Los Angeles area leading up to the second-round playoff game against the Raiders, returned home briefly, then spent the week in Miami to acclimate to the weather. The defense played an amazing game, forcing four Miami turnovers that led to 24 points, and New England amassed 255 yards on the ground to Miami's 68, keeping Dan Marino off the field for long stretches.
"You have to understand how important that was for our franchise, winning that game in Miami," recalled Brock. "That was huge.
"We had exerted so much of what we had that month just getting into the playoffs, and winning the road games and spending all that time traveling and away from home, that by the time we got to the Super Bowl, against one of the greatest defenses, if not the greatest defense, we didn't have much left."
They meet again
This year's Super Bowl, like Super Bowl XX, is a rematch of a regular-season game. The '85 Patriots lost a hard-fought 20-7 game to the Bears at Chicago in Week 2. The '07 Giants lost at home to the Patriots, 38-35, in Week 17.
"We certainly knew their tendencies and what they were going to do," said Brock. "We had some familiarity with what they did after that game. But that was early in the season, and they just got better and better and better as the season went on, and by the time they played us, they had a head full of steam. They weren't going to be denied."
Based on that first game with Chicago, Nelson felt the Patriots could at least hold down the Bears' offense. What he really laments is having two weeks between the AFC Championship and the Super Bowl.
"It's too bad we couldn't have played the next Sunday," said Nelson. "I'm not saying the results would have been different, but I think we would have given them a better game."
The '07 Giants started the season 0-2. Their losses? To Green Bay and Dallas, two teams they knocked off in the playoffs. So, unlike the '85 Patriots, they seemed to benefit from the previous meetings.
The Giants also seemed to gain momentum from their narrow loss in the regular-season finale against New England. With the game having no bearing on the Giants' playoff standing, some thought coach Tom Coughlin perhaps would rest some key players, but those close to him knew better. He tried hard to beat the Patriots, and almost did.
"There's no doubt that game probably gave the Giants a world of confidence," said Washington Redskins guard Pete Kendall, a 12-year NFL veteran and former Boston College standout. "Having played them twice this year [they split], I can tell you, that's a pretty tough team.
"They have an excellent front four who can put pressure on the passer with four guys. When you can do that, considering who the quarterback is over the other side, that's a key. That allows you more time to cover the back end. Up until then, the Patriots were beating teams pretty soundly, but the Giants gave them a heck of a game."
What are the chances?
Kendall, who lives on the South Shore, was a Patriots fan back in '85 and remembers their quest.
"It's certainly a different time now, a different day," he said. "The Giants certainly play very well away from East Rutherford, so that's a factor that's in their favor, but the Patriots have beaten everybody everywhere, so that offsets that. The Giants will benefit from the two weeks. They have some guys who are banged up who will get a chance to heal up a little bit."
Does he think the Giants can play with the Patriots?
"Absolutely, they can be in the game," he said. "You have to give them their accolades. The Patriots are a great team. Those three guys on that defensive line are as good as any 3-4 that you're going to see in the league.
"They're a tough group of guys. A great, great team. But I don't buy that the Giants shouldn't even show up for the game. They have a lot of talent and they've gained a little confidence with the way they played them the first time just four weeks ago."
While Nelson expects a Patriots win in the Super Bowl, he said of the Giants, "I think it has to help them that they're so good on the road. I don't know why they are, but they are.
"The other thing that stands out for me is that Eli Manning is playing very well. It seems like when [tight end Jeremy] Shockey got hurt, the entire team rallied and decided they needed to do a little more and had to compensate for the loss.
"Again, I don't know the Giants that well, but it just seems to me Shockey is the kind of player who needs to have the ball, and maybe now, without that, Eli can relax and just be the guy in charge out there."
Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com
