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| New England 24 Philadelphia 21 |
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| JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Feb. 6, 2005) -- Dynasty? Definitely. The New England Patriots don't have to proclaim greatness. The NFL record book does it for them.
The Patriots won their third Super Bowl in four years -- 24-21 against the Philadelphia Eagles -- and now they are challenging history. It was their ninth consecutive postseason victory, equaling Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers. It was coach Bill Belichick's 10th playoff victory in 11 games, one better than the great Lombardi. And it matched Dallas' run of three championships in four years in the early 1990s. "We've never really self-proclaimed ourselves anything," said Tom Brady, who is 9-0 in the playoffs. "If you guys say we're great, we'll accept the compliment." This one wasn't overpowering, and at times it was downright ugly. But not even Belichick seemed to care about that. "To me this trophy belongs to these players," Belichick said. "They met all comers this year, a very challenging year. We're thrilled to win. These players played great all year, their best in the big games and they deserve it; they really deserve it." With MVP Deion Branch tying a Super Bowl record for receptions with 11, Brady efficiently running the offense and Rodney Harrison sparking a smothering defense, the Patriots (17-2) didn't need a last-second field goal from Adam Vinatieri this time. But his kick -- a 22-yarder with 8:40 left -- provided the points that made the difference. This time, the Patriots sealed it with a stop. Philadelphia (15-4) got the ball back at its 4 with 46 seconds remaining. It was hardly enough time and far too much territory to cover against such a formidable foe. Harrison got his second interception with 9 seconds remaining to end it. Playing before a sea of mostly green jerseys in the crowd of 78,125, the Patriots ended Philadelphia's chance of heading north with its first major pro sports title since 1983. Indeed, it has been 45 years since the Eagles won the NFL crown. And even though they made it to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1981 -- after three consecutive conference championship flops -- their sparkling season still ended in disappointment. "We were too sloppy to win," receiver Terrell Owens said. "It was great to get back, but we made too many mistakes. We could have won, and that hurts." Corey Dillon, a newcomer to the championship game, scored the go-ahead points on a 2-yard run early in the fourth period. And when Branch wasn't catching passes, the Patriots flaunted their versatility by again using linebacker Mike Vrabel to find the end zone. Vrabel has caught TD passes in back-to-back Super Bowls and has five TDs in as many career catches, not bad for a linebacker -- or anyone else. Brady wasn't as fluid as he was when he won the MVP awards in the 2002 and 2004 games, but he was 23-for-33 for 236 yards and two TDs. "It doesn't matter who gets what," Branch said of taking the MVP away from his quarterback. When the offense bogged down or turned over the ball, Harrison and his mates forced four turnovers, including a goal-line interception by the veteran safety. The Patriots also had four sacks, making Donovan McNabb look ordinary, even skittish at times. And while Owens' return from a seven-week injury layoff was an individual success -- he had nine catches for 122 yards -- it was not nearly the star turn Branch made. Branch was most instrumental on the opening drive of the second half, which set the tone for New England's 57th victory in its past 74 games. Tom Brady's passing and Corey Dillon's running helped New England win its third Super Bowl. While New England handled frequent blitzes, Branch caught four passes for 71 yards on the series that ended with Vrabel's TD. "We did a great job of adjusting during the game," Branch said. "It was physical; a lot of guys were bumped and bruised." The Eagles responded with a 74-yard drive. McNabb whipped a 10-yard pass over the middle between two defenders to Brian Westbrook for the TD. Still, as winners always do, the Patriots reasserted themselves, effectively using screen passes against a tiring defense. Even when Eagles defenders shouted to each other to watch for the screen, New England made it work, particularly on Kevin Faulk's 14-yarder that preceded Dillon's 2-yard run to make it 21-14. Vinatieri hit his chip shot to make it 24-14. The Eagles came back on Greg Lewis' 30-yard TD reception with 1:48 remaining. Not that it bothered the Patriots, not that anything seems to bother the Patriots. Here's a team that's losing offensive coordinator Charlie Weis to Notre Dame and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel to become Cleveland's coach. "When you're in the middle of it, you're not thinking about what you're doing," Weis said. "Dynasties are talked about 10 years later." Sorry, Charlie, the Patriots are the talk of the league now. The victory gave New England its second team championship since the fall, though this was hardly as dramatic as the long-suffering Red Sox winning the World Series. Still, this certifies Boston as the hub of champions. Philadelphia's title drought goes on, but Owens certainly did his best to end it. The All-Pro receiver fulfilled his vow to start the Super Bowl, defying his doctor and playing with a metal plate and two screws in his right ankle. "T.O. did a heck of a job," coach Andy Reid said. "I was proud of the effort and they battled, but we came up just short -- too many turnovers -- and against such a tough football team you can't do that." Replay played a significant role on the first series. McNabb dropped the ball when he was hit by Willie McGinest and New England recovered at the Philadelphia 34. But Reid challenged that McNabb's knee was down when hit seconds before by Tedy Bruschi. Replay showed McNabb, indeed, was down. Philly put together the first good drive late in the opening period. Owens got open on a crossing pattern and gained 30 yards on third down, with a roughing penalty adding 9 yards, but Vrabel's 16-yard sack set the Eagles back. Then McNabb threw a poor pass that Asante Samuel intercepted in the end zone, but it was overturned because of illegal contact by linebacker Roman Phifer. No matter. McNabb again threw a duck, which Harrison picked off at the 3. But the Eagles got the ball again at the New England 45 after a punt. Three plays later, another turnover: Randall Gay knocked the ball loose from L.J. Smith and Samuel recovered at the 38. Once more, the defense held, and when the Eagles got the ball back at their 19, they finally finished off a drive. Todd Pinkston, whom Owens often overshadowed, looked like his illustrious teammate on receptions of 17 and 40 yards. On the longer one, he soared high for yet another McNabb misthrow and took it away from Gay. On third down from the 6, McNabb hung in the pocket and waited for Smith to get free in the end zone for the game's first score with 9:55 left in the half. It was the first time New England trailed this postseason. Brady then made a rare mistake, fumbling at the Philly 13. Darwin Walker recovered New England's first giveaway of the postseason. It didn't lead to anything for the Eagles, and after Dirk Johnson's 29-yard punt, the Pats drove 37 yards to tie it at 7. Brady found Givens behind Lito Sheppard in the right corner of the end zone for a 4-yard score, and Givens mocked Owens' wing flap after the touchdown with 1:10 remaining. |
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| PASSING Patriots T. Brady 23-33 236 yards 2 TDs 0 INTs Eagles D. McNabb 30-51 357 yards 3 TDs 3 INTs RUSHING Patriots C. Dillon 18-75-1 TD; K. Faulk 8-38; P. Pass 1-0; T.Brady 1-(-1) Eagles B. Westbrook 15-44-0; D. Levens 1-1; D .McNabb 1-0 RECEIVING Patriots D. Branch 11-133; C. Dillon 3-31; D. Givens 3-19-1 TD; K. Faulk 2-27; T. Brown 2-17; D. Graham 1-7; M. Vrabel 1-2-1 TD Eagles T. Owens 9-122; B. Westbrook 7-60-1 TD; T. Pinkston 4-82; G. Lewis 4-53-1 TD; L. Smith 4-27-1 TD; F. Mitchell 1-11; J. Parry 1-2 SACKS Patriots M. Vrabel 1-16, Tedy Bruschi 1-10; R. Seymour 1-6; Rodney Harrison 1-1 Eagles Team 1-9; D. Burgess 1-8 INTERCEPTIONS Patriots R. Harrison 2-5, T. Bruschi 1-0 Eagles None TACKLES Patriots R. Gayl 11; R. Harrison 7; T. Bruschi 7; A. Samuel 4; M. Vrabel 4; R. Phifer 3; T. Johnson 3; R. Seymour 2; W. McGinest 2; D. Reid 2; K. Traylor 1; T. Warren 1; E. Wilson 1; R. Colvin 1; H. Poteat 1 Eagles M. Lewis 6; K. Adams 5; B. Dawkins 5; J. Trotter 4; M. Ware 4; D. Burgess 4; S. Brown 4; D. Walker 3; L. Sheppard 3; H. Thomas 3; I. Reese 2; D. Jones 2; R. Hood 2; M. Simoneau 2; S. Rayburn 2: J. Kearse 2; Team 1; C. Simon 1 |
| 1st Quarter No Scoring 2nd Quarter Eagles - L.J. SMITH 6 YD PASS FROM DONOVAN MCNABB, 5:05 Drive: 9 plays, 81 yards in 4:36 Key Plays: McNabb 17-yard pass to Pinkston to Philadelphia 38 McNabb 40-yard pass to Pinkston to New England 17 Westbrook 11-yard run to New England 6 Eagles 7-0 Patriots - DAVID GIVENS 4 YD PASS FROM TOM BRADY, 13:50 Drive: 7 plays, 37 yards in 3:15 Key Plays: Brady 7-yard pass to Branch on 3rd-and-3 to Philadelphia 23 Brady 12-yard pass to T Brown to Philadelphia 7 TIED 7-7 3rd Quarter Patriots - MIKE VRABEL 2 YD PASS FROM TOM BRADY, 3:56 Drive: 9 plays, 69 yards in 3:56 Key Plays: Brady 27-yard pass to Branch on 3rd-and-6 to Philadelphia 38 Brady 15-yard pass to Branch on 3rd-and-10 to Philadelphia 23 Brady 21-yard pass to Branch to Philadelphia 2 NEW ENGLAND 14-7 Eagles - BRIAN WESTBROOK 10 YD PASS FROM DONOVAN MCNABB, 11:25 Drive: 10 plays, 74 yards in 4:17 Key Plays: McNabb 15-yard pass to Westbrook to Philadelphia 41 McNabb 12-yard pass to G Lewis to New England 32 McNabb 4-yard pass to Westbrook on 3rd-and-3 to New England 10 TIED 14-14 4th Quarter Patriots - COREY DILLON 2 YD RUN, 1:16 Drive: 9 plays, 66 yards in 4:51 Key Plays: Brady 13-yard pass to Faulk to New England 47 Dillon 9-yard run on 3rd-and-2 to Philadelphia 36 Faulk 12-yard run to Philadelphia 16 Brady 14-yard pass to Faulk to Philadelphia 2 NEW ENGLAND 21-14 Patriots - ADAM VINATIERI 22 YD FG, 6:20 Drive: 8 plays, 43 yards in 3:49 Key Plays: Brady 19-yard pass to Branch plus 15-yard roughing the passer penalty to Philadelphia 16 Dillon 5-yard run to Philadelphia 4 NEW ENGLAND 24-14 Eagles- GREG LEWIS 30 YD PASS FROM DONOVAN MCNABB, 13:12 Drive: 13 plays, 79 yards in 3:52 Key Plays: McNabb 5-yard pass to Owens on 3rd-and-2 to Philadelphia 34 McNabb 10-yard pass to Owens on 3rd-and-8 to Philadelphia 46 McNabb 11-yard pass to Mitchell on 3rd-and-10 to New England 43 McNabb 13-yard pass to Westbrook to New England 30 NEW ENGLAND 24-21 |
| Patriots Eagles
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS 21 24 By Rushing 6 4 By Passing 14 18 By Penalty 1 2 THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 4-12-33% 9-16-56% FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 0-0-0% 0-0-0% TOTAL NET YARDS 331 369 Total Offensive Plays 63 72 Average gain per offensive play 5.3 5.1 NET YARDS RUSHING 112 45 Total Rushing Plays 28 17 Average gain per rushing play 4.0 2.6 Tackles for a loss-number and yards 2-7 4-12 NET YARDS PASSING 219 324 Sacked 2-17 4-33 Gross yards passing 236 357 PASS ATT-COMP-INT 33-23-0 51-30-3 Avg gain per pass play 6.3 5.9 KICKOFFS #-In EZ-TBs 5-0-0 4-0-0 PUNTS Number and Average 7-45.1 5-42.8 Had Blocked 0 0 FGs - PATs Had Blocked 0-0 0-0 Net Punting Average 42.4 37.6 TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE (Not Incl. KO) 31 19 No. and Yards Punt Returns 4-26 3-19 No. and Yards Kickoff Returns 4-63 5-114 No. and Yards Interception Returns 3-5 0-0 PENALTIES Number and Yards 7-47 3-35 FUMBLES Number and Lost 1-1 2-1 TOUCHDOWNS 3 3 Rushing 1 0 Passing 2 3 EXTRA POINTS Made-Attempts 3-3 3-3 FIELD GOALS Made-Attempts 1-1 0-0 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY 3-5-60% 2-3-67% GOAL TO GO EFFICIENCY 3-5-60% 2-3-67% SAFETIES 0 0 TIME OF POSSESSION 31:37 28:23 |
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