The defense kept a door open.

Twelve and two. Nine straight wins to finish the regular season. Y.A. Tittle throwing a then-record thirty-three touchdown passes.

Those numbers deserve a moment before anybody skips to the loss. The 1962 Giants were a hell of a football team.

Green Bay came to Yankee Stadium for the championship. The cold and wind were fierce. This was going to be a game in which every yard had to be worked for.

Ten to seven, and still a game.

Jim Taylor carried thirty-one times for eighty-five yards. That gives you some idea of how the Giants made Green Bay earn its running game.

New York’s touchdown came on special teams. Erich Barnes blocked a Max McGee punt, and rookie Jim Collier recovered in the end zone. The third-quarter score cut Green Bay’s lead to 10–7.

The defense had kept the game close. Special teams had given the Giants a way back into it. Now they needed the offense to find something against that Packers defense.

Jerry Kramer kicked three field goals for Green Bay. Ray Nitschke recovered two Giants fumbles. The Packers won 16–7.

This is part of the defense story, too.

I grew up with my grandfather telling me about Giants defense. Looking at this game, I can see why a team could stay with its fans even after a championship loss.

Taylor kept getting the ball. The Giants kept having to meet him. They made the afternoon difficult enough that one blocked punt could put the game back within reach.

The offense fell short. That belongs in the account. So does a defense that kept asking Green Bay to earn the next yard in weather that made the whole game harder.

There would be another championship trip the following year. The waiting continued.