HOUSTON — In a Super Bowl that will long be remembered as
one of the best, the New England Patriots got a 41-yard field goal
from Adam Vinatieri with just four seconds remaining Sunday night
to pull out a 32-29 victory over the Carolina Panthers.

It marked the second time in three years that Vinatieri had
delivered a field goal that gave the Patriots a Super Bowl victory.
He kicked a 48-yarder to beat the St. Louis Rams two years ago.

The Patriots (17-2) finished their season with 15 consecutive
victories.

Though the Patriots walked away with another title, the Panthers
walked out of Reliant Stadium knowing they belonged in this Super
Bowl.

Both quarterbacks - New England's Tom Brady and Carolina's Jake
Delhomme - passed for more than 300 yards, a feat accomplished only
one other time in Super Bowl history and that was by two guys named
Montana and Marino.

Brady's final pass of the evening, a 17-yard strike to Deion
Branch, established a Super Bowl record of 32 completions. More
important, it gave the Patriots the ball on the Carolina 23-yard
line.

New England used its final time-out, and Vinatieri, after
missing two field-goal attempts in the first half, came through
with the game-winner.

Brady, who completed 32 of 48 passes for 354 yards and three
touchdowns, was named the Super Bowl MVP for the second time in his
career.

In a losing effort, Delhomme completed an incredible first
season as a starter, completing 16 of 33 passes for 323 yards and
three touchdowns.

The Panthers took their first lead of the game with 6 minutes,
53 seconds remaining when Delhomme connected with Muhsin Muhammad
for an 85-yard touchdown, the longest play from scrimmage in Super
Bowl history.

After the Panthers failed on their two-point conversion attempt,
Brady took the Patriots 68 yards on 11 plays and connected with
linebacker - yes, linebacker - Mike Vrabel for a 1-yard TD that
allowed New England to regain the lead. A two-point conversion run
by Kevin Faulk made it 29-22.

But the Patriots left the Panthers plenty of time and Delhomme
connected with Ricky Proehl for a 12-yard touchdown with 1:13
remaining. John Kasay's extra point tied it, but then he kicked the
ball out of bounds, giving Brady great field position for the final
drive.

As usual, he made the most of it.

The teams set a Super Bowl record by going scoreless through the
first 26 minutes, 55 seconds, then combined for an amazing 24
points in the last 3:05.

After driving to the 13-yard line on their first possession of
the game, the Patriots sent Vinatieri out for a 31-yard field-goal
attempt.

He pushed the kick wide right, marking the first time in six
games the Patriots had failed to score on their opening drive.

The Patriots drove into Carolina territory again on two of their
next three possessions and had nothing to show for it.

The third time the Patriots leveled Delhomme, linebacker Vrabel
jarred the ball loose from the quarterback, and defensive tackle
Richard Seymour covered the ball at the Carolina 20-yard line.

After taking the ball to the 5-yard line with a 12-yard run,
Brady connected with Deion Branch for the game's first
touchdown.

Backed up to their 5-yard line, the Panthers appeared to be in
danger of going down by more before the half.

Instead, Delhomme engineered an eight-play, 95-yard drive to tie
the score. He completed four of seven passes for 90 yards.

Brady and the Patriots answered with a six-play, 78-yard drive
that took just 49 seconds.

Brady then play-faked to Antowain Smith and connected with
Givens for a 5-yard touchdown that gave the Patriots a 14-7 lead
with 18 seconds left.

That was enough time for the Panthers to get three points.
Kicker John Kasay connected for a 50-yard field goal that pulled
the Panthers to within four points as time expired.

New England pushed its lead to 11 points when Smith capped an
eight-play, 71-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run on the second
play of the fourth quarter. Carolina answered right away by going
81 yards for a touchdown.

The Panthers opted to go for two, but Delhomme's pass fell
incomplete.

New England was on the brink of another score midway through the
fourth quarter, but cornerback Reggie Howard picked off a Brady
pass in the end zone to keep the Panthers alive.
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