NFL (03/04) Super Bowl XXXVIII: New England Patriots vs Carolina Panthers

[Portia]

PATRIOTS 32 d. PANTHERS 29​

Game summary

Most of the first half was a defensive struggle, with neither team able to score until late in the second quarter, despite several early scoring opportunities for New England. After Carolina was forced to punt on their opening drive, Patriots receiver Troy Brown gave his team great field position with a 28-yard return to the Panthers 47-yard line. The Patriots subsequently marched to the 9-yard line, but Carolina kept them out of the end zone and Adam Vinatieri missed a 31-yard field goal attempt. The Patriots forced Carolina to punt after 3 plays and again got the ball with great field position, receiving Todd Sauerbrun's 40-yard punt at the Panthers 49-yard line. New England then drove to the 31-yard line, but on third down, linebacker Will Witherspoon tackled Brown for a 10-yard loss on an end-around play, pushing the Patriots out of field goal range. Later on, New England drove 57 yards to the Panthers 18-yard line with 6 minutes left in the second period, but once again they failed to score as Carolina kept them out of the end zone and Vinatieri's 36-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Panthers defender Shane Burton.

Meanwhile, the Carolina offense was stymied by the New England defense, with quarterback Jake Delhomme completing just one out of his first nine passes, sacked three times, and fumbling once. That fumble occurred 3 plays after Vinatieri's second missed field goal; Delhomme lost the ball while being sacked by linebacker Mike Vrabel, and Patriots defensive tackle Richard Seymour recovered the ball at the Panthers 20-yard line. Two plays later, New England faced a third down and 7, but quarterback Tom Brady scrambled 12 yards to the 5-yard line for a first down. Then wide receiver Deion Branch caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Brady on the next play.

Branch's touchdown came after 26:55 had elapsed in the game, setting the record for the longest amount of time a Super Bowl remained scoreless. The play also suddenly set off a scoring explosion from both teams for the remainder of the first half.

The Panthers stormed down the field on their ensuing possession, driving 95 yards in 8 plays, and tying the game on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Delhomme to wide receiver Steve Smith with just 1:07 left in the half.

The Patriots immediately countered with a 6-play, 78-yard scoring drive of their own. Starting from their own 22-yard line, Brady completed a 12-yard pass to wide receiver David Givens. Then after throwing an incompletion, Brady completed a long pass to Branch, who caught it at the Panthers 24-yard line in stride before being tackled at the 14-yard line for a 52-yard gain. Three plays later, Givens caught a 5-yard touchdown from Brady to give New England a 14–7 lead with only 18 seconds left in the half. The Patriots decided to squib kick the ensuing kickoff to prevent a long return, but their plan backfired as Carolina tight end Kris Mangum picked up the ball at his own 35-yard line and returned it 12 yards to the 47. Panthers running back Stephen Davis then ran for 21 yards on the next play to set up kicker John Kasay's 50-yard field goal as time expired in the half, cutting Carolina's deficit to 14–10.

The third quarter was scoreless as each team exchanged punts twice. But with 3:57 left in the period, the Patriots put together a 71-yard, 8-play scoring drive, featuring tight end Daniel Graham's 33-yard reception to advance to the Carolina 9-yard line. Running back Antowain Smith then capped off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run on the second play on the final period to increase their lead, 21–10. This was the start of another scoring explosion, one that became one of the biggest explosions in Super Bowl history, with both teams scoring a combined 37 points in the last 15 minutes, the most ever in a single quarter of a Super Bowl.

Delhomme started out Carolina's ensuing drive with a 13-yard completion to wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad. After committing a false start penalty on the next play, Delhomme completed a pair of passes to Smith for gains of 18 and 22 yards. Running back DeShaun Foster then scored on a 33-yard touchdown run, cutting the Panthers' deficit to 21-16 after Delhomme's 2-point conversion pass fell incomplete. The Patriots responded on their ensuing possession by driving all the way to Carolina's 9-yard line, but the drive ended when Panthers defensive back Reggie Howard intercepted a third down pass from Brady in the end zone. Then on 3rd down from his own 15-yard line, Delhomme threw for the longest play from scrimmage in Super Bowl history, an 85-yard touchdown completion to Muhammad. Carolina's 2-point conversion attempt failed again, but they took their first lead of the game, 22-21, with 6:53 remaining.

However, New England retook the lead on their next drive, advancing 68 yards with the aid of a pair of completions from Brady to Givens for gains of 18 and 25 yards. Once again the Patriots were faced with third down and goal, but this time they scored with Brady's 1-yard pass to Vrabel, who had lined up in an eligible tight end position. Then on a two-point conversion attempt, running back Kevin Faulk took a direct snap and ran into the end zone to make the score 29-22. Despite amassing over 1,000 combined yards, Kevin Faulk's two-point conversion constituted the only points he scored all season.

The Panthers countered on their next possession. Foster started the drive with a 9-yard run and a 7-yard reception. After that, Delhomme completed a 19-yard pass to Muhammad, followed by a 31-yard completion to receiver Ricky Proehl. Then Proehl, who caught the fourth quarter game tying touchdown pass against the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI 2 years earlier for the St. Louis Rams, finished the drive with a 12-yard touchdown reception. Kasay's ensuing extra point tied the game, 29-29, with 1:08 to play in regulation and it appeared that the game would be the first Super Bowl ever to go into overtime.

However, Kasay kicked the ensuing kickoff out of bounds, giving New England the ball on their own 40-yard line. Brady calmly led the Patriots offense down the field with a 13-yard pass to Brown on second down. An offensive pass interference penalty on Brown pushed New England back to their own 43-yard line, but another 13-yard reception to Brown and a 4-yard pass to Graham brought up a critical 3rd down and 3 from the Carolina 40-yard line. The Panthers defense could not prevent the Patriots from gaining the first down, as Brady completed a clutch 17-yard pass to Branch. On the next play, Vinatieri kicked a 41-yard field goal to give New England the lead, 32-29, with four seconds left in the game. Carolina failed on their last chance, as Rod Smart went nowhere on the resulting kickoff, and the Patriots had won their second Super Bowl in three years. This was the fourth Super Bowl to be decided on a field goal in the final seconds. Super Bowl V was won on a last second kick by Jim O'Brien, Super Bowl XXV as Scott Norwood missed his field goal chance, and Super Bowl XXXVI as Adam Vinatieri made his.

[edit] Scoring summary

* NE - TD: Deion Branch 5 yard pass from Tom Brady (Adam Vinatieri kick) 7-0 NE 3:05. Drive: 4 plays, 20 yards in 2:10
* CAR - TD: Steve Smith 39 yard pass from Jake Delhomme (John Kasay kick) 7-7 tie 1:07. Drive: 8 plays, 95 yards in 1:58
* NE - TD: David Givens 5 yard pass from Tom Brady (Adam Vinatieri kick) 14-7 NE 0:18. Drive: 6 plays, 78 yards in 0:49
* CAR - FG: John Kasay 50 yards 14-10 NE 0:00. Drive: 2 plays, 21 yards in 0:18
* NE - TD: Antowain Smith 2 yard run (Adam Vinatieri kick) 21-10 NE 14:49. Drive: 8 plays, 71 yards in 4:08
* CAR - TD: DeShaun Foster 33 yard run (2-pt conv: pass failed) 21-16 NE 12:39. Drive: 6 plays, 81 yards in 2:10
* CAR - TD: Muhsin Muhammad 85 yard pass from Jake Delhomme (2-pt conv: pass failed) 22-21 CAR 6:53 Drive: 3 plays, 90 yards in 0:45
* NE - TD: Mike Vrabel 1 yard pass from Tom Brady (2-pt conv: Kevin Faulk run) 29-22 NE2:51. Drive: 11 plays, 68 yards in 4:02
* CAR - TD: Ricky Proehl 12 yard pass from Jake Delhomme (John Kasay kick) 29-29 tie 1:08. Drive: 7 plays, 80 yards in 1:43
* NE - FG: Adam Vinatieri 41 yards 32-29 NE 00:04 Drive: 6 plays, 37 yards in 1:04

[edit] Final statistics

[edit] Overview

Delhomme finished the game 16 out of 33 for 323 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions. Muhammad caught 4 passes for 140 yards, an average of 35 yards per catch, and a touchdown. Steve Smith caught 4 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. He also returned a punt for 2 yards, and returned a kickoff for 30 yards, giving him 112 total yards. Proehl caught 4 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown....

Tom Brady's 32 completions were the most in Super Bowl history. His 48 attempts were the most for a winning quarterback. His 354 yards passing is now the fifth best total in Super Bowl history. Branch was the top receiver of the game with 10 receptions for 143 yards and a touchdown. Brown caught 8 passes for 76 yards, and returned 4 punts for 40 yards. Antowain Smith was the top rusher of the game with 83 yards and a touchdown.

The game set a number of marks for offensive production. The two teams combined for 868 yards of total offense, the second-highest total in Super Bowl history. Both starting quarterbacks threw for at least 300 yards for only the second time in Super Bowl history, with Dan Marino and Joe Montana each passing for at least 300 yards in Super Bowl XIX. This was also only the second Super Bowl to feature one 100-yard receiving performance on each team, with Deion Branch and Muhsin Muhammad each reaching 100 yards. Andre Reed and Michael Irvin first accomplished the feat in Super Bowl XXVII.

The 37 total points scored in the 4th quarter were the most combined points in a 4th quarter in a Super Bowl and the most in any quarter by two teams. Washington's 35 points in Super Bowl XXII was the previous high for most combined points in a single quarter in a Super Bowl. The fourth quarter was the second in Super Bowl history to have 5 touchdowns scored in a single quarter, the first being when the Redskins had 5 in Super Bowl XXII in the second quarter. It was also the first time in Super Bowl both teams would score at least two touchdowns in the same quarter.

 

[NakedDeadGuy]

The most widely discussed moment of Super Bowl XXXVIII came during halftime. The show was produced by Viacom's MTV and CBS Sports, and was sponsored by America Online's TopSpeed software for dial-up Internet service.

After a brief appearance by singer Jessica Simpson, the show began with a joint performance by marching bands the Spirit of Houston, from the University of Houston, and the "Ocean of Soul" of Texas Southern University. Next, singer Janet Jackson made her first appearance, singing "All For You". Then, singers P. Diddy, Nelly, and Kid Rock appeared in that order and performed a mixture of their hits.

Jackson then performed her song "Rhythm Nation". Afterwards, Justin Timberlake appeared, and he and Jackson sang a duet of Timberlake's song "Rock Your Body". The performance featured many suggestive dance moves by both Timberlake and Jackson. As the song reached the final line, "I'm gonna have you naked by the end of this song," Timberlake pulled off a part of Jackson's costume, revealing her outer right breast (adorned with a large, sun-shaped nipple shield, a piece of jewellery worn to accentuate the appearance of a nipple piercing). CBS immediately cut to an aerial view of the stadium, but the damage had been done. Many people considered this indecent exposure, numerous viewers contacted the network to complain, saying it was inappropriate in the context of a football game.

Just before the start of the second half a British streaker, Mark Roberts, ran onto the field disguised as a referee, undressed, and performed a dance wearing only a thong. He was tackled to the ground by Matt Chatham and arrested. It is not custom for American television to zoom in on such events, but it was later shown on Late Show with David Letterman. He received a $1000 fine for trespassing.