NEWARK, New Jersey (AP) ― Smiles were the order of the day, as the Super Bowl-champion New York Giants returned home, victorious once again.

The team’s charter plane from Indianapolis touched down around 1:55 p.m. Monday at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

Several players saluted the crowd as they departed the aircraft, and some used cameras and video recorders to capture the moment and the scene. Coach Tom Coughlin also had a big smile as he waved to the crowd.

Once on the ground, the players, coaches and team officials were greeted by several hundred airport employees and a Port Authority bagpipe band. Crews also fired water cannons to salute the team while the plane taxied to a hangar.

The players then took buses to the team’s headquarters in East Rutherford, where thousands of fans lined the gates waiting to catch a glimpse of the champions.

At around 2:15 p.m., a caravan of five chartered buses pulled up to the gate at the Timex Performance Center. The first bus had Coughlin sitting in the front seat, waving to the cheering fans.

When all five buses made it safely inside, the players started to filter out and to their own vehicles. Wide receiver Mario Manningham and defensive end Justin Tuck came over to the fence to greet the cheering fans, offering handshakes and high fives.

“Every time we came into the huddle, we just tried to take it one play at a time,” Tuck said later Monday, in an interview on WFAN. “It was just another team effort. We were so focused.”

Tight end Jake Ballard was spotted coming off the bus, donning crutches to help him maneuver with his injured right knee. He managed to smile and wave to the adoring fans.

Manning appears on Letterman

NEW YORK (AP) ― Eli Manning tells David Letterman this Super Bowl championship is for his teammates.

Manning made an appearance on “Late Show with David Letterman” on Monday, a day after the quarterback led the New York Giants to a 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots for his second title in five years.

The two-time Super Bowl MVP tells Letterman, “I think when you have one, that second one, you really do it for the other guys who’ve never had that experience. The first one just is wild.”

Letterman says Eli is his favorite Manning, over brother Peyton, quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts who had neck surgery and missed the entire season. Letterman then presses the younger Manning on his brother’s plans for next season.