Just last weekend, the New York Giants allowed 33 fourth-quarter points against the Denver Broncos to lose a game in which it seemed impossible for them to do anything other than win. How wild was it? In the 1,602 previous instances of an NFL team leading by 18 or more points with six minutes left, all 1,602 teams that were ahead finished with a victory. The Giants, who had a 26-8 lead late, somehow didn't.

It was stunning, astounding, confounding. It seemed unprecedented. Sadly, Giants fans knew it wasn't.

"This ranks up there with the '02 [playoff] loss to San Francisco," Bob Papa, the Giants' longtime radio announcer, said afterward. "And of course," he added, "with 2010."

Of course -- 2010.

Now, as the Giants attempt to recover from the Broncos disaster and prepare to face the

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