Super Bowl XXXVIII

Super Bowl XXXVIII is the 38th Super Bowl, the championship of American football. The game was played on February 1, 2004 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.

The score was New England Patriots 32, Carolina Panthers 29.

New England quarterback Tom Brady was named Most Valuable Player.

Scoring Summary

New England -- Branch, 5 yard pass from Brady (Vinatieri kick) [7--0]
Carolina -- S.Smith, 39 yard pass from Delhomme (Kasay kick)   [7--7]
New England -- Givens, 5 yard pass from Brady (Vinatieri kick) [14--7]
Carolina -- Kasay, 50 yard field goal                          [14--10]
                       ----+++ HALFTIME +++----
New England -- A.Smith, 2 yard run (Vinatieri kick)            [21--10]
Carolina -- Foster, 33 yard run (pass failed)                  [21--16]
Carolina -- Muhammad, 85 yard pass from Delhomme (pass failed) [21--22]
New England -- Vrabel, 1 yard pass from Brady (Faulk run)      [29--22]
Carolina -- Proehl, 12 pass from Delhomme (Kasay kick)         [29--29]
New England -- Vinatieri, 41 yard field goal                   [32--29]f

The Game

Entering the game, the Patriots were 7-point favorites to win their second Super Bowl championship in three years.

The first and most of the second quarter were a defensive struggle, with neither team able to score until late in the first half. Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri had two chances to give his team an early 3-0 lead, but missed one field goal attempt wide right and had the second blocked. The Carolina offense, led by quarterback Jake Delhomme, was especially stymied, with Delhomme completing one out of his first nine passes, sacked three times, and fumbling once. That fumble, recovered by New England's Richard Seymour, set up the opening score, a 5-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Deion Branch.

The Panthers quickly tied it up with a 8-play, 90-yard drive late in the second quarter, capped by a 39-yard touchdown pass from Delhomme to Steve Smith. New England countered again with a 78-yard drive that took only 49 seconds, with Brady throwing a 52-yard pass to Branch and, later, a touchdown pass to David Givens. John Kasay kicked a 50-yard field goal on the last play of the half to make the score 14-10 at halftime.

After a lackluster third quarter with all drives by both teams ending in punts, running back Antowain Smith scored a 2-yard touchdown on the second play of the fourth quarter to make the score 21-10. This was the start of one of the biggest offensive explosions in Super Bowl history, with the two teams combining to score 37 points in the last 15 minutes.

Deshon Foster closed the gap to 21-16 with a 3-yard touchdown on the Panthers' opening drive. The Panthers' 2-point conversion attempt failed. After the Patriots drove to the Carolina 9-yard line, a Brady pass intended for tight end Christian Fauria was intercepted in the end zone by Reggie Howard, who returned it to the Panthers' 10-yard line.

On 3rd down from the 15, Delhomme threw for the longest play from scrimmage in Super Bowl history, an 85-yard touchdown to Muhsin Muhammad. The 2-point conversion failed again, but Carolina had taken a 22-21 lead with 6:53 remaining.

New England took the lead again with 2:51 to go when linebacker Mike Vrabel, who had checked in as an eligible receiver on 2nd and goal from the 1, caught a touchdown pass. Kevin Faulk took the direct snap on the 2-point conversion and scored to make it 29-22.

Carolina quickly moved downfield themselves on the following drive, going 81 yards in the span of 1:43. The game was tied when Ricky Proehl, who also caught a Super Bowl-tying touchdown as a member of the St. Louis Rams two years earlier, caught another one, from 12 yards out. The game was tied 29-29 with 1:08 to play in regulation, and overtime looming. It appeared that for the first time in Super Bowl history that the game would go into overtime.

Kasay's ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, ensuring the Patriots would start from their own 40-yard line. Brady and the Patriots offense calmly moved downfield, with two passes to Troy Brown, a penalty setting New England back 10 yards, another pass to Daniel Graham, and another to Deion Branch that put the Patriots at the Panthers' 23-yard line with 9 seconds remaining. This set up a 41-yard field goal attempt from Vinatieri, which was pushed straight down the middle. New England led 32-29 with 4 seconds to go. Rod Smart's kickoff for Carolina was stopped at the Panthers 21, and time had run out. The New England Patriots had won their second championship in three years.

Playoffs

Wild Card Round

1/3/2004: AFC: Tennessee Titans 20, Baltimore Ravens 17

Gary Anderson kicked the winning 46-yard field goal with 29 seconds left. It was a defensive struggle: Titans quarterback Steve McNair threw three interceptions, one of which was returned by Will Demps for a touchdown; while regular-season rushing leader Jamal Lewis of the Ravens was limited to 35 yards on 14 carries. Todd Heap scored another touchdown for Baltimore, while Chris Brown and Justin McCareins scored for Tennessee.

1/3/2004: NFC: Dallas Cowboys 10, Carolina Panthers 29

The Cowboys' turnaround season under coach Bill Parcells came to a crashing halt. Quarterback Quincy Carter threw for only 154 yards and an interception, while being sacked 3 times. He scored the Cowboys' only touchdown of the game. His counterpart on the Panthers, Jake Delhomme, threw for 273 yards and a touchdown to Steve Smith. Stephen Davis ran for 104 yards and another touchdown. John Kasay kicked five field goals for Carolina.

1/4/2004: AFC: Denver Broncos 10, Indianapolis Colts 41

Colts QB Peyton Manning had a perfect 158.3 pass rating as the Colts manhandled the Broncos from start to finish. Manning had passed for four touchdowns in the first half alone (he had five all told), including one to Marvin Harrison where he got up and scored after falling down untouched. Harrison and Brandon Stokley both scored two touchdowns for Indianapolis, with Reggie Wayne adding the fifth. Rod Smith had a late TD for Denver.

1/4/2004: NFC: Seattle Seahawks 27, Green Bay Packers 33 (OT)

Al Harris returned Seattle QB Matt Hasselbeck's interception 52 yards for the game winning touchdown 4:25 into overtime. The game was sent into the extra period on Seahawk running back Shaun Alexander's third touchdown of the day. Ahman Green scored two TD's for Green Bay, and Bubba Franks caught a 23-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

byes: AFC: Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots; NFC: Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Rams

Divisional Round

1/10/2004: AFC: Tennessee Titans 14, New England Patriots 17

One of the coldest games in NFL history, with temperatures reaching 4°F (-15°C). Bethel Johnson opened the scoring with an opening-drive 41-yard touchdown catch from Brady. Chris Brown later tied it up for the Titans. New England's Antowain Smith and Tennessee's Derrick Mason traded touchdowns afterward. Adam Vinatieri's 46-yard field goal with 4:06 remaining in the 4th quarter put the Patriots in the lead for good. Drew Bennett's drop of a late 4th-down pass from Steve McNair clinched the win.

1/10/2004: NFC: Carolina Panthers 29, St. Louis Rams 23 (2OT)

The Carolina Panthers stun the favored St. Louis Rams in double-overtime in a thrilling finish to a game that featured big swings in momentum. Carolina scored on a long pass play in the opening seconds of the second overtime period to win 29 to 23 in St. Louis. Both teams had missed field goals in the first overtime period, and the teams had to play on. Carolina led through most of the game, but the Rams rallied from a 11 point deficit to tie the score in the closing seconds of regulation time.

1/11/2004: AFC: Indianapolis Colts 38, Kansas City Chiefs 31

This game was what many observers called a textbook example of an offensive showdown. Neither team punted during the entire game. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns (to Reggie Wayne, Brandon Stokley and Tom Lopienski), while Edgerrin James ran for two scores. On the Kansas City side, Dante Hall caught a touchdown and ran a kickoff for another; and Priest Holmes, who set the regular-season rushing touchdown record in 2003, also scored twice. Holmes' third-quarter fumble, which set up a Colts' field goal, turned out to be one of the Chiefs' downfalls. Kansas City defensive coordinator Greg Robinson resigned the following week in disgust.

1/11/2004: NFC: Green Bay Packers 17, Philadelphia Eagles 20 (OT)

With 72 seconds left in the fourth quarter the Packers were up 17-14. Philadelphia needed a miracle play, which they got when Donovan McNabb completed a 28 yard pass to Freddie Mitchell. The Eagles went on to tie the game at 17 a piece on a 37 yard David Akers field goal and won in overtime when Akers kicked a 31 yard field goal.

Conference Championships

1/18/2004: AFC: Indianapolis Colts 14, New England Patriots 24

The New England Patriots win at home, with snow on the field during the second and third quarters of the game, winning the right to go to the Super Bowl for the second time in three years. Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning finds himself outmatched by the Patriots defense, giving up four interceptions during the game.

1/18/2004: NFC: Carolina Panthers 14, Philadelphia Eagles 3

The Carolina Panthers travel to Philadelphia and win the right to visit Super Bowl XXXVIII for the first time in franchise history. This is the third straight NFC Championship loss for the Philadelphia Eagles whose quarterback, Donovan McNabb, sustains a lower-rib injury early in the game. The Eagles' passing game is shut down with the help of rookie Ricky Manning, Jr., who finishes the game with three interceptions. Just two seasons ago, the Panthers were the NFL's worst team with a record of 1-15.

Halftime controversy

See Super Bowl XXXVIII Halftime controversy.