Tom Brady set up Vinatieri’s 41-yard field goal with 4 seconds left to give New England its second NFL championship in three seasons with a thrilling 32-29 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday night.
Vinatieri earlier missed a field goal and another was blocked. But as he did in 2002 when he kicked the winning field goal to beat St. Louis on the final play of the Super Bowl, he proved he is perhaps the NFL’s best clutch kicker.
For a contest that was scoreless for a record 27 minutes, this game was one of the greatest offensive shows between two of the league’s best defenses.
There were 37 points scored in the fourth quarter alone and Brady, who led New England on its winning drive, was 32-of-48 for 354 yards and three touchdowns. The 32 completions were a Super Bowl record.
Brady was voted the game’s MVP for the second time in three seasons, although he did throw an interception that prevented New England from winning more easily.
Before the game, played in the city that is home to the nation’s space program, there was a tribute to NASA and the crew of the shuttle Columbia, which broke up over Texas exactly one year earlier.
And before the second-half kickoff, Justin Timberlake tore off part of Janet Jackson’s top, exposing her breast during the halftime show, and a streaker was tackled on the field.
It made fans wonder what was in store for the second half. The teams didn’t disappoint.
“There have been some heart attacks, but they’ve come out on top,” said coach Bill Belichick, whose team won its 15th straight game.
Carolina had tied the game at 29 with its third fourth-quarter TD on a 12-yard pass from Jake Delhomme to Ricky Proehl with 1:08 left. Then John Kasay kicked the ball out of bounds to give New England field position at its own 40.
Brady moved the Patriots 37 yards in six plays, hitting Deion Branch to set up Vinatieri’s winning kick.
“I looked up and it was going right down the middle,” he said.
The kick prevented the Super Bowl from going into overtime for the first time ever.
The Patriots led 14-10 at the half, and after a scoreless third quarter, they made it 21-10 on the second play of the fourth on a 2-yard run by Antowain Smith. It capped an eight-play, 71-yard drive featuring a 33-yard pass from Brady to tight end Daniel Graham.
Carolina wasn’t about to give up, though, scoring on DeShaun Foster’s 33-yard run on a six-play, 81-yard drive. But the 2-point conversion pass was behind Muhsin Muhammad and it was 21-16. The decision to go for 2 would come back to haunt coach John Fox.
The Patriots seemed ready to put the game away when they got the ball back, but Brady made a rare mistake — throwing an off-balance pass that Reggie Howard intercepted in the end zone.
Two plays later, Delhomme found Muhammad behind the New England defense for an 85-yard score, the longest play from scrimmage in Super Bowl history, to give the Panthers a 22-21 lead with 6:53 left. Fox again went for the 2-point conversion and failed.
It was the first time since Nov. 23 that New England trailed. The last time was also in Houston, when the Patriots rallied from 20-13 down in the fourth quarter to beat the Texans 23-20 in overtime on, what else, a field goal by Vinatieri.
The Panthers’ lead didn’t last long, either.
Brady came back with a TD pass to linebacker Mike Vrabel with 2:51 remaining, and Kevin Faulk ran in for the 2-point conversion to give New England a 29-22 lead.
About two minutes later, Delhomme and Proehl hooked up to tie the score, giving Vinatieri another chance to be a hero.
After the scoring drought to open the game, the Patriots and Panthers finally got going — 24 points in the final 3:05 of the first half that left New England with a 14-10 lead.
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