A 48-yard field goal from Adam Vinatieri in the final seconds earned the New England Patriots a shock 20-17 victory over the St Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans yesterday. The Rams had fought back from 17-3 down in the fourth quarter but it was all in vain as Vinatieri restored the Patriots' advantage, which had been built up in the second quarter through a 47-yard interception touchdown from Ty Law and an eight-yard scoring pass from Tom Brady to David Patten.
Jeff Wilkins had put the Rams ahead with a 50-yard field goal with just over three minutes remaining in the first quarter but that was the only score of the period as both defences dominated the early exchanges. In the second period, Kurt Warner found Az-Zahir Hakim with a 29-yard pass on third-and-15 to help set up a 52-yard field goal attempt for Wilson. This time, however, the 29-year-old, whose longest kick in an eight-year NFL career was a 57-yard effort in 1998, pushed his effort wide to the left.
However, halfway through the quarter, Warner was intercepted and Law ran the ball back to put the Patriots 6-3 ahead before Vinatieri added the extra point. It was Law's sixth touchdown in seven years with the Patriots. With less than two minutes remaining in the half, a fumble allowed the Patriots to regain possession on the Rams' 40-yard line and quarterback Tom Brady took full advantage when connecting with Patten for his touchdown soon after. Vinatieri again made no mistake with the extra point to put the Patriots 14-3 ahead at the interval.
In the third quarter, Vinatieri extended the Patriots' lead with a 37-yard field goal and at 17-3 down, the Rams were chasing the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history. However, the deficit was cut to 17-10 when Warner touched down in the end zone and Wilkins added the extra point. With less than two minutes on the clock, the Rams did the unthinkable. Warner quickly connected with an 18-yard pass to Akim, an 11-yard toss to former Scottish Claymores star Yo Murphy and a 26-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Proehl before Wilkins levelled matters with the extra point.
However, heartbreak followed after such a marvellous comeback as a 50-yard drive left Vinatieri facing the 48-yard field goal to win the trophy and he made no mistake with his final kick with just seven seconds remaining on the clock. "We had a ton of chances and these guys just never give up - I've never been so proud to be a part of anything as this in my whole life," said Vinatieri afterwards. "I love every one of these guys. They just kept going all game long. We've shocked the world but we didn't shock ourselves - we're champions."
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
