Houston, Feb 02: Adam Vinatieri kicked a 41-yard field goal with four seconds left in the fourth quarter to lift the New England Patriots over the Carolina Panthers, 32-29, in Super Bowl XXXVIII at Reliant Stadium. Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes, including one to Mike Vrabel late in the fourth quarter, as New England won its second Super Bowl title in the last three years. Brady completed 32-of-48 passes for 354 yards and Vrabel had two of the Patriots` four sacks in the win. Adam Vinatieri kicked a 41-yard field goal to lift the New England Patriots to a thrilling 32-29 win over the Carolina Panthers Sunday, their second Super Bowl title in three seasons. Vinatieri, who booted the winning kick with no time on the clock two years ago when the Patriots defeated St Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, once again came through in the clutch, driving the ball through the uprights with four seconds left. Vinatieri, who booted the winning kick with no time on the clock two years ago when the Patriots defeated St Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, once again came through in the clutch, driving the ball through the uprights with four seconds left. The starting quarterback on that Rams team was Kurt Warner who once played in NFL Europe. Warner`s backup in Europe was Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme. Delhomme spoke to reporters about the pain he felt after today`s game. "You know it is probably one of the most worse feelings in the world, you know it is just its ah, you can`t explain what you feel right now, you know since March 24th we started, and July 24th when we started on the off season and now it is over. Its been a great ride, I understand that but right now it is just hard."


One of the greatest minds in the NFL coaching ranks is Bill Belichick who has lead his team to their 2nd Super Bowl victory in three years. Both his victories in the Super Bowl were won with last second field goals by Adam Vinatieri.



After the game Belichek had a chance to talk with reporters about his kicker. "Adam has been making big kicks since his rookie year in 96. He`s a pressure kicker, he`s really consistent, I mean nobody makes all of them, but if you gotta have one kick to with everything on the line, he`s the one I want kicking it. "


The MVP in New England`s Super Bowl win over the Rams, Tom Brady turned in another sparkling MVP award-winning performance, completing 32 of 48 passes for 354 yards and three touchdowns against a ferocious Panthers defense.


He too thought it was truly a Super bowl. "Yeah I mean, how ironic is it for Adam to come back and kick that field goal to win it, just like it happened a couple of years back. And they scored . you know they have some fire power out there and they make it tough and I think we figured it would come down to the end . Guys made some great catches out there on the last drive. Adam drilled that sucker right down the middle to win it so...what a game. what a game. Fitting for the super bowl I guess."


It was the 15th straight victory for the Patriots, the second longest winning run in NFL history behind only the 1972 Miami Dolphins, winners of 17 in a row.


Bureau Report