Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Sixty-one points, forty-six first downs and 868 yards later, Super Bowl XXXVIII was decided on a 41-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri.
So much for world-class defense.
In a game that was supposed to be decided by two of the best defenses the 2003 NFL season had to offer, it was all about offensive firepower for the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers. No battle of futility here, as NASA would have been proud of all the rockets launched on Super Sunday.
The Patriots emerged from Houston with their second Vince Lombardi Trophy in the last three seasons. Bill Belichick, who is now 6-0 in playoff games with New England, watched as his defense allowed big play after big play in a contest consisting of great highs and deep lulls.
However, "Little Bill" was bound to have a smile (albeit small) on his face on the plane ride back to Boston since he pulled into a tie with his mentor, Bill Parcells, with his second Super Bowl championship as a head coach.
"In the end, nobody could stop anybody," said Belichick, who became the fourth active head coach with at least two Super Bowl crowns, joining Washington's Joe Gibbs (three), Denver's Mike Shanahan and Parcells (two each).
Everything was going as planned until the final few minutes of the first half. Each team's offensive shortcomings were evident as the defenses dominated the first 25-plus minutes of Super Bowl XXXVIII. However, the game changed when Tom Brady hit Deion Branch with a five-yard touchdown pass at the 3:05 mark of the second quarter. The game's first scoring play opened the floodgates for 17 more points to be posted before halftime.
"We all knew it was going to be a tight game," Belichick said. "I don't think anyone expected so many points to be on the scoreboard in the end, but no one should have been surprised that it came down to the last possession. I sure wasn't."
All the points were scored in the second (24 points) and fourth quarters (37). Both teams exhibited heart, grit and determination, but only one went home with the championship hardware.
"In a perfect world, you know, maybe both these teams could be honored for their accomplishments in a unique way, but I'm sure as [heck] glad that we were the ones to lift that Lombardi again at the end," said Brady, who won his second career Pete Rozelle award as the Super Bowl MVP.
Brady was in a similar situation three years ago when he assembled the Super Bowl-winning drive with 1:21 remaining in the game against St. Louis. The 26- year-old signal-caller didn't have any timeouts to work with last time, but the end result was the same this time around: a Patriots' Super Bowl championship thanks to the game-winning field goal by Vinatieri.
"This is just as good as the first Super Bowl championship," Vinatieri said. "Maybe even better. This is great. It's just great."
Brady wasn't perfect, but he made all the throws necessary to get his team past a terrific squad coached by John Fox.
"Sometimes you can make a mistake and still live to see tomorrow," Brady quipped.
It looked as though Super Bowl XXXVIII would be the first league championship game to go to overtime since the 1958 contest between Baltimore and the New York Giants. The Panthers made a bid for the last word in the see-saw fourth quarter when Jake Delhomme hooked up with Ricky Proehl on a 12-yard touchdown pass with 1:43 remaining in regulation. John Kasay's extra point knotted the game at 29.
However, Kasay committed an error of epic proportions on the ensuing kickoff, as he booted the ball out of bounds to give New England possession at its own 40-yard line with 68 seconds to play.
The cool, calm and collected Brady entered the Patriots' offensive huddle poised to make history. He made up for a drive-opening incompletion with a 13- yard pass to veteran wideout Troy Brown. The next play -- a 20-yard pass to Brown that would have landed New England at the Carolina 27 -- was negated by an offensive pass interference call on Brown.
"It was a call they made and something we were going to have to live with one way or another," Brown said. "Luckily we get to live with it as an afterthought."
And so it was an afterthought as Brady bailed his team out of a first-and-20 from his own 43 with a 13-yard completion to Brown. Tight end Daniel Graham caught a four-yard pass on the next play, leaving offensive coordinator Charlie Weis with an interesting third-and-three situation from the Panthers' 40. Without a first down, Vinatieri would have attempted a 57-yarder for the win.
Instead, however, the Patriots got a first down against the Panthers' suddenly soft pass defense. Brady whipped a 17-yard pass to Branch, who led all players with 10 receptions for 143 yards, that set up Vinatieri's 41-yard try with nine seconds left.
The rest is history.
"The quarterback, the running backs, the wide receivers, the tight ends, and especially the offensive line all did a great job," said Belichick, whose offensive line did not allow a single sack this entire postseason.
Major Tom earned his second MVP award in three seasons with a stellar 32-of-48 performance that produced 354 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Brady's not perfect and his stats aren't nearly as gaudy on a week-to-week basis, but he's a great winner, and that's all that counts.
"We do seem to get it done when the chips are down," said Brady, who is the youngest QB in league history to win two Super Bowl titles. "This is such a great team that I'm just glad to be a part of it."
Brady is actually a very humble young man with style and grace. He's sort of the Joe Montana of the 21st century, though he laughs off any such comparisons with his boyhood idol.
The Patriots' defense was effective at times. Defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel forced Carolina out of its run-first game plan by filling the running lanes with defenders from every angle. The Panthers finished with a very un- Carolina-like 16-33 run-to-pass ratio. Willie McGinest, who was such a huge part of the Super Bowl XXXVI-winning team two years ago, was a pass-rushing menace. He had one of New England's four sacks -- the only four sacks in the game.
Mike Vrabel, who was inserted into the starting lineup more than four months ago by Crennel when big-ticket free agent Rosevelt Colvin went down with a season-ending hip injury, played a spectacular game on both sides of the ball. The Ohio State product had six tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble, which accounted for Carolina's only turnover of the game. Vrabel, however, also caught a one-yard TD pass from Brady in the fourth quarter that gave New England a 27-22 advantage with 2:51 left. The quick snap to Kevin Faulk on the ensuing two-point conversion was absolute genius.
The Panthers deserve a tremendous amount of credit. Delhomme, who finished 16- of-33 for 323 yards and three touchdowns, played better than anyone could have imagined. Considering the Patriots didn't give up many big plays at all this season, it was quite remarkable to see Delhomme produce touchdowns on 39- and 85-yard plays. The 85-yard touchdown pass to Muhsin Muhammad was the longest play from scrimmage in Super Bowl history.
"Hey, we know that we played as hard as we could," said an upbeat Stephen Davis, who carried 13 times for 49 yards. "Nobody in our locker room is hanging their heads. We had a great season."
The Panthers did have a great season. It was just that the Patriots were three points better.
New England has now won two of the last three Super Bowls, both coming on last-second field goals by Vinatieri. There's a great similarity between the two Patriot championships because Belichick has a formula for winning games that resulted in a 15-game winning streak. The streak is the second-longest single-season mark behind the perfect 1972 Miami Dolphins. Yet the greatest aspect of New England's recent dominance is the emphasis on team football.
The 1999 St. Louis Rams were one of the most prolific scoring teams of all- time, but they would have more than one Lombardi Trophy since then if their coaching and team chemistry echoed New England's. The 2000 Baltimore Ravens had one of the greatest defenses of any championship team. But the salary cap caught up with the Ravens and ripped the team apart before any sort of dynasty could be established. The jury is still out on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but they will have their hands full with Fox's Panthers over the next few years in the talented NFC South.
The New England Patriots might not be the most talented team in NFL history, but they achieve because they believe.
By Bryan McGovern, The Sports Network's NFL Editor.
From Boston.com on February 3, 2004.
Copyright The Boston Globe.