We know that ‘The Play” in the Super bowl was amazing. It really was. You had the near sack of Eli Manning, followed by the crazy fingertip/helmet catch by David Tyree. But that play is actually even more unbelievable then you actually thought.

Why? Because of the statistics for David Tyree.

In his 5-year career in the NFL (all with the Giants), Tyree has caught 54 passes for 650 yards and 4 touchdowns. For comparison’s sake, Plaxico Burress caught 70 passes this season for 1,025 yards and 12 touchdowns.

This season, Tyree played in 12 regular season games and made 4 catches for 35 yards. Tryee was 10th on the Giants in receptions. 10th! He fell behind the likes of Madison Hedgecock and Sinorice Moss.

And yet, he was a part of one of the greatest Super Bowl plays of all time.

Tyree did not record his first reception of the season until December 2nd versus the Bears. In that game, he caught 2 passes for 32 yards. Then he added 2 more catches in week 17. That’s it.

And he didn’t exactly catch fire in the playoffs either. He did not record any catches versus Tampa Bay or Dallas (we’re not sure if he even played), and he caught 1 ball for 4 yards against Green Bay.

And then came the Super Bowl. Tyree checks in with 3 catches for 43 yards, 1 touchdown, and the catch that made the difference in the game.

The Giants’ first 19 games of the season, Tyree had 5 catches for 39 yards. In the Super Bowl, he rang up 4 for 43. In a way, Tyree represented the anti-Patriots. He didn’t do squat in the regular season, then played the game of his life in the Super Bowl.

But now, when you talk about NFL post-season football, you can add the name David Tyree right there with Franco Harris, Dwight Clark, Marcus Allen.

The only logical thing to happen next for David Tyree is for Isiah Thomas to sign him to a lucrative long term deal base don his performance in that one game.

Way to go, Mr. Tyree! What a play.