Last-minute field goal steals Superbowl for Patriots

TOPPING their own standard for dramatic triumphs, the New England Patriots won their second Super Bowl crown in three years on Sunday with a repeat of the same heart-stopping thrills that brought a title in 2002.

Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes and guided a pressure-packed drive in the final minute to set up a 41-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri with four seconds left to give the Patriots a 32-29 win over Carolina.

“It’s just incredible,” Brady said. “It’s unbelievable to do it the way we did it. The guys made great catches, and Adam drove that sucker right down the middle to win it. What a game.”

Brady directed New England downfield in the Super Bowl’s dying seconds against St Louis two years ago to set up Vinatieri’s title-winning 48-yard field goal, then repeated his miracle march to beat the stubborn Panthers.

“It’s amazing, just a little deja vu from two years ago,” Vinatieri said. “Tom led us down the field again. It’s only fair I do my part.

“Most guys never get to play in this game, much less have the opportunity for two game winners. They never get old. I’ll definitely cherish this one.”

Vinatieri’s winning kick capped a game that began as one of the tightest Super Bowls but finished as an all-time classic, with the Patriots stretching their second-longest win streak in NFL history to 15 games.

“To win 15 games in a row and culminate it by rising to a great challenge, I think it can be talked about with some of that have had accomplishments,” said New England coach Bill Belichick. “I’m still on cloud nine.”

Brady was named the Super Bowl’s Most Valuable Player as he was in 2002, completing 32 of 48 attempted passes for 343 yards, including a one-yard touchdown toss to Mike Vrabel and five-yard scoring strikes to Deion Branch and David Givens.

“Tom has a lot of great qualities,” Belichick said. “He makes a lot of great decisions with the ball. He is great at the end of the game. Tom is a winner. That’s his job, to do what he has to do to make his team win.”

Brady became the first quarterback with two Super Bowl titles before his 27th birthday and matched his idol Joe Montana, Bart Starr and Terry Bradshaw as the only men with multiple Super Bowl MVP awards.

The Patriots had not allowed a touchdown play longer than 30 yards all season but surrendered three to Carolina in the championship game, including the longest touchdown pass in Super Bowl history.

Carolina’s Jake Delhomme was 16-of-33 for 323 yards and three touchdowns in a losing cause, although his 85-yard touchdown connection with Mushin Muhammad was the longest touchdown throw ever in American football’s title showdown.

That play gave the Panthers a 22-21 lead with 8:07 to play, the first time in seven games over two months that the Patriots had trailed in a game.

New England responded with a touchdown but Delhomme, who sparked Carolina to eight four-quarter victory rallies and a 7-0 prior record in games decided by three points or less, was not yet finished.

Delhomme found Rickey Proehl to cap an 80-yard march for the tying touchdown with 68 seconds left.

“Our guys kept swinging their sword,” Carolina coach John Fox said. “I was proud of the fight in our team and the way Jake responded in the second half.”

Carolina’s John Kasay sent the ensuing kickoff out of bounds, allowing the Patriots to start at their 40-yard line. It proved a critical blunder.

“I caught it just a little late,” Kasy said. “I was trying to make a good kick. I got a little high and outside the ball. We needed a good kick and I didn’t get it done.”

New England’s Deion Branch, who caught 10 passes for 143 yards, hauled in a 17-yard pass from Brady at the Carolina 24-yard line to set the stage for Vinatieri’s deciding kick.

Vinatieri had made 31-of-35 prior field goals in domed stadiums, but his four misses had all come here, including a miss and a blocked kick earlier in the game. But when the moment came, Vinatieri put the ball through the uprights.

“With the pressure on, it’s never easy,” Vinatieri said. “You try to block all the external things out and kick it. You try to think that it’s no different than a 41-yarder in practice.

“The guys fought so hard all day long. I’m just fortunate to have the opportunity to put the icing on the cake they worked so hard to build.”

Brady’s 32 completions set a Super Bowl record, and his late scoring shootout with Delhomme produced the highest-soring quarter in Super Bowl history with 37 points in the final quarter, beating Washington’s 35 points in the second quarter in 1988.