The Super Bowl is just 14 days away. Let’s look at the Super Bowl from 14 years ago to honor this not-so-significant occasion!
Houston hosted Super Bowl XXXVIII on February 1, 2004. The game pitted the NFC champion Carolina Panthers against the New England Patriots of the American Football Conference. The Panthers were in their ninth season of existence. Yet, they already had one exciting ride to the NFC championship, two head coaching changes and one rebuilding project.
Carolina Panthers 14 Years Ago
The 2003 Panthers coached by John Fox were in their second year of the aforementioned rapid rebuild project. In 2001, the Panthers finished 1-15. Head coach George Seifert was fired and Fox was brought onboard to replace him. The 2002 Panthers showed vast improvement. They were led by hotshot wideout Steve Smith and rookie defensive lineman Julius Peppers to a 7-9 record. Carolina finished in last place in a very competitive division behind the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Michael Vick-led Wild Card Atlanta Falcons. Carolina’s resurgence continued in 2003 when Jake Delhomme replaced Rodney Peete as the starting quarterback. Stephen Davis was added via free agency. Deshaun Foster was drafted to bolster their running attack. Therefore, they were much stronger on offense. On defense, Kris Jenkins was a First-Team All-Pro selection. Put it together and Carolina became a playoff team.
They upset Mike Martz’s St. Louis Rams in an epic double-overtime thriller. Carolina appeared to be in control with just a few minutes left leading 23-12. The Rams struck with a touchdown and 2-point conversion to cut the lead to 23-20. Subsequently, they recovered an onside kick. Them, of all people, Martz took the ultra-conservative “send it to overtime” approach by settling for a field goal and a tie. Both teams squandered opportunities to win in the first overtime. The Rams took the ball back and drove into Carolina territory, however an errant Bulger pass was intercepted by Carolina cornerback Ricky Manning . On the first play of the second overtime period, Delhomme needed only ten seconds to throw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Smith to win the game. It marked the first double-overtime game and longest NFL game since the 1986 playoffs.
In the NFC championship game, Fox’s defense completely stifled Andy Reid’s offense as the Panthers won in Philadelphia 14-3. The Carolina Panthers qualified for their first ever Super Bowl appearance.
New England Patriots 14 Years Ago
The AFC was a three-team race between New England, Kansas City and Indianapolis. The Chiefs and Colts were offensive powerhouses, but weak on the defensive side of the ball. Thus, the Patriots were the most complete squad of the three. The Pats added veterans Rodney Harrison, Larry Centers and Ted Washington to an already stacked lineup.
The Patriots got waxed by former friend Lawyer Milloy and the Buffalo Bills 31-0 in the opener. In week four, they lost at Washington 20-17. They would not lose again. Many of their wins were tough, grind-it-out affairs. They won at Miami in overtime on a dramatic pass play from Tom Brady to Troy Brown. A few weeks after that, the Pats won at Denver in come-from-behind style on Monday Night Football. However, their grandest triumph during the regular year occurred when they knocked off Indy 38-34 using a goal-line stand at the buzzer for the win.
In the playoffs, the Patriots held off Tennessee in arctic conditions 17-14. In the AFC championship game, the Patriots’ defense tormented Peyton Manning all afternoon long. Ty Law especially frustrated Colts’ receivers with his aggressive cover style. The NFL’s co-MVP threw four interceptions as New England prevailed 24-14. Bill Belichick led his team back to the Super Bowl.
Two Games in One
Super Bowl XXXVIII had two games within one. There were the defensive duels of the first and third quarters and the offensive warfare of the second and fourth. Indeed, there was a little of everything in this very exciting football game. What cannot be denied, though, is the best player on the field in Super Bowl XXXVIII was Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady. He did not play a perfect game, but he was clutch in clutch city.
New England’s came out on fire limiting the Panthers to -7 yards over their first 20 plays. The Panthers responded well late in the second quarter with 10 points in the final 2 minutes. The score was 14-10 until early in the fourth.
Pat’s running back Antowain Smith bulldozed home for a 21-10 lead eleven seconds into the last quarter to set off a scoring spree. The Panthers scored the next twelve points including an electrifying TD pass from Jake Delhomme to Muhsin Muhammed. The play covered 85 yards. Carolina missed their 2-point conversions so the score was 22-21.
Tom Terrific
Brady, unaffected by an earlier red zone interception, brought his team down the field in four minutes. The Patriots scored when Brady hit linebacker Mike Vrabel from the one-yard line for the touchdown. They successfully converted their 2-pointer on a direct snap to Kevin Faulk. The lead did not last very long. Delhomme brought his team down the field in just over a minute. Just like he did in Super Bowl XXXVI for the Rams, Ricky Proehl scored the tying touchdown.
Panthers’ kicker John Kasay made a critical error on the ensuing kickoff as the lefty pushed it out of bounds. Brady led his team into Adam Vinatieri field goal range. Despite a shaky first half, Vinatieri booted it home to give the Pats their second World Championship! But, they were not done yet.
Brandon Fazzolari is a Super Bowl expert…@spot_Bills
