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Posted: Monday February 04, 2002 3:34 AM
Weekly Archive: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Wild Card | Divisional | Conference Championships
CNNSI.com's Jon A. Dolezar reviews Super Bowl XXXVI.
| Super Bowl XXXVI Recap |
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New England 20 |
at New Orleans |
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St. Louis 17 |
• Recap
• Game Summary
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| Key Stat |
1928 -- The last time the NFL champion hailed from New England was in 1928, as the Providence Steam Rollers won the title with an 8-1-2 regular-season record, prior to the creation of the NFL playoffs. |
Player of
the Game |
Adam Vinatieri, K, New England: Proved to be one of the best clutch kickers ever throughout this postseason, highlighted by his pressure-packed 48-yard game-winning field as time expired. Vinatieri joins Colts kicker Jim O'Brien as the only players to win a Super Bowl on a last-second game-winning kick. |
| Breakdown |
The Patriots beat a favored team with a brilliant gameplan for the second consecutive week to claim their first NFL championship. New England did a masterful job of jamming the Rams' speedy wide receivers and not allowing them to get into the open field where they could take advantage of their tremendous speed. The Rams outgained the Pats 427-267 and held a dominant 26-15 edge in first downs, but New England capitalized on three turnovers. Ty Law led the Pats defensively with eight tackles and a momentum-shifting 47-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter. Tom Brady took home the MVP award mostly based on his poise, since he didn't put up eye-popping numbers. Brady finished 16 of 27 for 145 yards and one touchdown. Antowain Smith rushed 18 times for 92 yards. Kurt Warner completed 28 of 44 for 365 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, giving him a record 779 passing yards in his first two Super Bowl appearances. |
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