GREEN BAY -- Green Bay defense coordinator Bob Sanders said nothing the New York Giants did offensively surprised the Packers Sunday night.

Yet it was the Packers who were left stunned by a 23-20 overtime loss to the Giants in the NFC Championship Game at Lambeau Field.

"It's just the shock of ending so abruptly," Packers defensive end Aaron Kampman said. "No one anticipated this happening. We just didn't cash in our opportunities. ... Obviously, (there is) disappointment -- disappointment to be in this position."

The New York offense -- led by quarterback Eli Manning's 254 yards passing, receiver Plaxico Burress' 11 catches for 154 yards and a bruising ground game that picked up 134 yards -- didn't falter.

"I give them credit for coming out and managing the game and making big plays," Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk said.

Burress had particular success in his matchup with Pro Bowl cornerback Al Harris.

"They executed their offense well," Sanders said. "My hat goes off to them. We had our opportunities and they executed. Certainly, (Burress) is one of their main guys. He had a nice game. They made the plays and we didn't."

Said Harris: "They took advantage of what we do. You saw a lot of back-shoulder throws, which are extremely hard to defend. Eli made some good throws, Plax made some good catches. That's it. They came down with the ball, and we didn't. They were the better team tonight. They won the game."

The Giants controlled the football for 40 minutes, 1 second. The Packers' defense didn 't help its cause, committing several penalties that kept New York drives alive in the second half.

"They had a lot of long drives and that takes a lot of gas out of a defense," said Packers safety Atari Bigby, who tied teammate Corey Williams with a game-high nine tackles.

The Giants took a 13-10 lead in the third quarter on a 69-yard drive that included four defensive penalties against the Packers. That included an illegal contact penalty on Harris against Burress and a personal foul on blitzing safety Nick Collins for a hit on Manning. Each penalty came on third down and resulted in first downs.

"It was a judgment call," Collins said. "The ref said I took two (steps) and I thought I took one."

The Giants eventually scored on Brandon Jacobs' 1-yard run with 7:56 left in the third quarter -- after consecutive offside penalties against Green Bay. Just before that, the Packers barely missed recovering a Giants' fumble.

"I tried to squeeze it in my legs," Kampman said. "I saw it come out. ... Yeah, that was a tough one."

Later, a pass-interference penalty against Packers cornerback Charles Woodson on a fourth-and-6 play in the fourth quarter gave New York a first down at Green Bay's 28. But the Giants failed to capitalize when kicker Lawrence Tynes missed a 43-yard field goal wide to the left. That left the game tied at 20.

"Whenever you have this opportunity, you have to make sure you are at your best," Woodson said of failing to reach the Super Bowl.

Said linebacker Brady Poppinga after playing what he believed was the best game of his career: "It's disappointing. You come so far and are this close."