Mike Celizic

If you’re a fan of any team that’s going to have to play the Patriots in the playoffs, you could be excused for being depressed over what happened on Saturday night in the New Jersey Meadowlands. You thought you were going to see the Pats go down — for a brief shining moment, you might have been certain of it — and then the blankety-blank so-and-sos take over the fourth quarter and finish the 16-0 season. The problem is clear: They don’t know how to lose.

But if you’re a player for one of those teams, you’ve got to be encouraged. The template for how to beat the Patriots was there: pressure Tom Brady, double-team Randy Moss, run the ball if you can, get a big play on special teams, play your guts out.

The Giants haven’t been accused of being the best team in the NFL. Nor, for that matter, where the Eagles or the Ravens. But all three teams followed the template, and all pushed the Patriots to somewhere that might be near the limits of their extraordinary abilities. All had chances to beat the team that remains — so far — unbeatable.

That’s what the teams that will play the Patriots next month were watching on Saturday night. The fact that the Giants were smacked around for 22 unanswered points in the second half won’t register on those who would beat the kings. What they’ll see is a team that can be beaten and a way to do it.

And what should stand out most is the last piece of the puzzle, the one the Giants weren’t able to find: Don’t make a mistake.

That’s where the Giants lost. They didn’t do much wrong, but the few mistakes they made were all big — a couple of dumb penalties, a couple of critical dropped passes and the granddaddy of them all, a late interception when the last thing the Giants could afford to do was give the Patriots another possession and another shot at the end zone.

Eli Manning played about as well as he ever has. And there’s no dishonor in throwing one interception on a night when you’re 22-for-32 with four touchdowns and 251 yards. That’s an excellent night by any quarterback’s standards.

Special feature

But Brady threw no interceptions, which is what we’ve come to expect of him. The Giants got a gift touchdown after Moss was flagged for an excessive celebration and the Patriots had to kick off from their own 15, resulting in a return touchdown. That was huge for the Giants, and a play they had to have to have a chance to win.

Their problem was they couldn’t get another break — not an interception or a fumble recovery. And finally, Manning made the one mistake he couldn’t afford to make, not against the best team in football.

Patriots pursue perfection Brady voted near-unanimous NFL MVP Opinion: Brady will end QB debate with title Special feature: Brady among all-time greats Opinion: Pats too good, focused to be denied Opinion: It's easier to upset Pats than Colts Celizic: Giants proved Patriots are beatable Compare 2007 Patriots with 1972 Dolphins Feature: Sports' best-ever regular seasons NBC Sports: Timeline of undefeated season iPredict: New England won’t win Super Bowl Opinion: 19-0 would make Pats best team ever Votes: Pats go 19-0?  |  Rooting for them? Gridiron Greats: Best NFL teams of all-time

The Patriots are relentless. They don’t get discouraged, don’t get down, don’t panic, don’t succumb to pressure. You think they’re playing you as hard as they can, and then they kick it up a notch when they have to. And no one plays better and harder and smarter in the fourth quarter than they do.

They showed all of that against the Giants, who played harder and better than anyone thought they would. They may have played harder than they should have, to be honest. With a playoff game coming next weekend against the Buccaneers, it’s easy to argue that they should have rested some of their key players — starting with Brandon Jacobs and Plaxico Burress — instead of risking injuries in a game that had no meaning to them.

To the credit of the team and the game, they played perhaps their best game of the year, just in an effort to keep the Patriots from a record that won’t among to a hill of beans if they don’t win three more and end the season in Arizona doing the happy dance with the Lombardi Trophy.

A Giants’ fan could be forgiven for wondering where this team was in some of the games they lost this year, but that would be raising a quibble that’s out of place in this discussion. What’s important is that a team that is not considered a serious threat to get to the Super Bowl pushed the Patriots to the brink of their first defeat of the season.

If the Giants can do that, can’t the Colts or Cowboys or Chargers or any of the other teams still standing?

That’s what those teams are thinking right now. Just because the Patriots have not been beaten doesn’t mean they’re unbeatable. It’s not easy, but nobody ever said it would be or should be. It requires a perfect game. Nothing more and nothing less.

Pressure Brady. Cover Moss. Get a big play on special teams. And don’t make a mistake — not one.

There’s the template, laid out for all to see Saturday night. Now all somebody has to do is follow it.

MORE FROM NFL

NFL Section Front

Police rule ex-QB McNair’s death a homicide PFT: Woman's family thinks third person involved Curran: Tough, talented — McNair lived up to the hype   Slideshow: McNair's career highs, lows PFT: McNair's ex-teammates bemoan his loss PFT: Shock, sadness at McNair's death McNair brought big-time football to Alcorn St. Discuss: How will you remember Steve McNair? PFT: Favre not so popular in Vikings' camp? PFT: Giants not worried about Manning deal NFL Section Front   Add NFL headlines to your news reader: