Super Bowl - Welker Drop and Brady Safety Led Patriots" Miscues No matter how many times he assumed responsibility for it, choking back tears as he spoke, the ball would never nestle in his hands, never erase the hollow feeling inside, and that would sting deep into a long off-season. "It's a play I never drop," Welker said, still dumbfounded at how the Patriots lost another Super Bowl to the Giants in the closing minutes, this time 21-17. The eighth caromed off his hands at the Giants" 20, with the Patriots leading, 17-15, and less than four minutes remaining. It was a tough play - Welker twisted around in midair, adjusting to Brady's pass - but to him the degree of difficulty was irrelevant. It's one I'll have to live with. The Patriots" second consecutive setback in the Super Bowl was as painful as their last - four years ago to the Giants in the Arizona desert - if not more, players said. Tight end Aaron Hernandez, then a freshman at Florida, had no point of reference, but he said he was "heartbroken" and "speechless." And it might have felt that way because the Patriots had overcome so much this season - a maligned defense, several injuries, the death of Myra Kraft, the wife of the team's owner, Robert K. Kraft - and yet had won 10 in a row, cruising since losing to the Giants at Gillette Stadium on Nov. 6. In guiding New England to its fifth Super Bowl appearance in 11 years, Brady leaned on Welker. He also leaned on his other constant, Rob Gronkowski, who all week deflected queries about his left ankle. Gronkowski caught only two passes, for 26 yards. One throw intended for him ended up in the hands of Chase Blackburn for Brady's lone interception. Asked how his ankle felt, Gronkowski said, "I'm good." Asked if it limited him at all, Gronkowski dismissed the question with a slight head shake, saying, "I was 100 percent out there doing everything they asked me to do." Maybe so, but it was not enough. As Gronkowski's teammates shuffled around the area, almost all of them uttered some variation of what Deion Branch said. "I thought we all could have done something to help him in the game," he said of Brady. I don't think anyone had the best game on the offensive side of the ball. Danny Woodhead came closest, scoring the Patriots" first touchdown and accounting for 60 yards. Hernandez added 67 receiving yards and a touchdown, but he also dropped a pass on the Patriots" final drive. New England reached as far as its own 49 before Brady's heave fell into the end zone. The Patriots failed to score over the final 26 minutes. "It's not just about one play," Hernandez said. It's a whole bunch throughout the whole game. Until Ahmad Bradshaw's touchdown with 1 minute 4 seconds remaining, the Patriots had led the Giants on the strength of two epic drives, ruthless in their efficiency, that bookended halftime.