For a dynasty, the New England Patriots looked eminently beatable Sunday night, and the Philadelphia Eagles couldn’t do a thing about it.
Playing their average solid but unspectacular game and mocking the Eagles by flapping their arms after big plays, the Patriots won their second Super Bowl in a row and third in four years 24-21.
Like the first two, the difference was a field goal by Adam Vinatieri, but this one came with 8 minutes 40 seconds left and provided a 24-14 lead. It didn’t require a last-minute drive by quarterback Tom Brady. The Patriots pulled away from a 14-14 tie with the first 10 points of the fourth quarter as the Eagles and quarterback Donovan McNabb folded.
Receiver Deion Branch was voted the most valuable player with 11 catches for 133 yards, but he didn’t score a touchdown and barely outplayed a courageous and surprising Terrell Owens of the Eagles, who caught nine passes for 122 yards playing despite a doctor’s recommendation against it.
Patriots strong safety Rodney Harrison was the real star, intercepting fellow Chicagoan McNabb in the first quarter near the goal line and on the last desperation pass. He also sacked McNabb once, made seven tackles and continued to hold together a secondary decimated by injury all season and further depleted Sunday by an injury to free safety Eugene Wilson just before the half.
“Harrison and [Tedy] Bruschi have been much of the heart and soul of this defense,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.
Belichick hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy as his postseason record of 10-1 now surpasses Lombardi’s 9-1 with the Green Bay Packers’ dynasty of the 1960s.
Harrison caught twice as many passes from McNabb as Eagles receiver Freddie Mitchell, who had raised Harrison’s ire by saying he didn’t know the names of the defensive backs and was planning something special for No. 37.
“Freddie probably bit off a little more than what he could chew, but I bet he knows our numbers now, huh?” Harrison said. “It was a little nerve-wracking out there. It made my role bigger. I had to cover the third wide receiver, but that’s the kind of challenge you want.”
McNabb threw three interceptions, including one to linebacker Bruschi with 7:20 left that seemed to knock the sense out of coach Andy Reid, who forgot there was still time to recover from a 10-point deficit. The Patriots became the first team to win three out of four championships since the 1992-93-95 Dallas Cowboys, who won before the free agency era was supposed to level the playing field and prevent sustained excellence.
Brady completed 23 of 33 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns, but the Patriots broke the 14-14 tie on a 66-yard drive featuring the running of Corey Dillon and Kevin Faulk. Dillon’s 2-yard touchdown run with 13:44 made it 21-14.
On the Eagles’ next series, Patriots linebacker Rosevelt Colvin tackled Brian Westbrook for a 6-yard loss to force a three-and-out. Against a worn-out Eagles defense, the Patriots then drove 43 yards, including a 19-yard catch by Branch, to set up a 22-yard field goal by Vinatieri.
“After everything I went through last year, it feels great,” said Colvin, who dislocated his hip last season after joining the Patriots from the Bears. “They caught us sleeping in the first half, but we came back fighting.”
Brady joined the Cowboys’ Troy Aikman as a three-time Super Bowl winner and ran his perfect playoff record to 9-0 at age 27. He fumbled near the goal line and started slowly under the Eagles’ pressure before finishing strong. He directed a 69-yard touchdown drive to start the second half and take a 14-7 lead, hitting linebacker-turned-tight end Mike Vrabel for a touchdown pass for the second year in a row.
Brady said he was looking for Branch for the second Super Bowl in a row. Branch had played only nine games because of injury.
“He’s a very dynamic player,” Brady said. “We missed him for most of the year. We got into a little better rhythm as the second quarter went on.”
David Givens and Vrabel flapped their arms to mimic Owens after their touchdown catches. Harrison did the same after his final interception. Although he was kept out of the end zone himself, Owens’ performance was shocking after he suffered a fractured fibula and high ankle sprain of his right leg Dec. 19.
“Nothing is impossible when you’ve got God on your side,” Owens said. “We came up short. We played a great team. My hat goes off to the New England Patriots.”
Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, who will take over at Notre Dame, praised Brady’s preparation last week after the death of his 94-year-old grandmother, Margaret Brady, on Wednesday.
“All he wanted to do was meet,” Weis said. “He’d be in his room and ask me to come up. He’d say, `Can we tweak the game plan?’ I’d say, `Just shut up and let me get some sleep.'”
The Eagles committed turnovers on two first-quarter possessions in New England territory, McNabb’s interception and a fumble by tight end L.J. Smith.
“This could have been a blowout,” McNabb said. “Woulda, coulda, shoulda. You’ve got to give them credit. I look at the three interceptions. As the quarterback, you want to make sure you take care of the ball. Turnovers kill you.”
McNabb completed 30 of 51 passes for 357 yards but was sacked four times plus the three interceptions. He ran only once for zero yards as the Patriots, buoyed by the return of defensive lineman Richard Seymour, blitzed and pressured him with four- and five-man fronts. Eagles fans, who haven’t seen an NFL title since 1960, will wonder why Reid and offensive coordinator Brad Childress refused to go to a hurry-up attack with 5:40 left down by 10.
The Eagles finally scored on a 30-yard strike from McNabb to Greg Lewis to make it 24-21 with 1:48 left but didn’t leave themselves enough time. The Patriots recovered an onside kick, and the Philadelphia defense forced a three-and-out. But the Patriots’ punt was downed at the 4-yard line with 46 seconds left and the Eagles had no timeouts.
McNabb dumped a pass to Westbrook, who should have dropped it to save time. He then threw behind Owens before Harrison made his interception with nine seconds left.
“I’m extremely happy for Corey Dillon,” Harrison said. “It was like watching myself all over again.”
Harrison joined the Patriots last season after the San Diego Chargers thought his career was over. Dillon was obtained from the Cincinnati Bengals for a second-round draft choice last off-season after complaining about losing and saying he’d rather flip hamburgers than play anymore in Cincinnati.
“People have different motivations,” Harrison said. “For some people, it’s money. People doubt me all the time, and that’s what motivates me. This is unbelievable. Everyone had pretty much blown us off, didn’t give us a chance. Everyone picked Philly to win this game.”
Actually, almost nobody picked Philadelphia, but whatever Harrison says, the Patriots seem to believe.
Like the rest of his teammates, Harrison still refused to use the word “dynasty.”
“No, we are world champions now,” Harrison said. “I don’t know about next year, but we are world champions now. I will leave that up to all you experts. You get paid to figure those things out. I just get paid to play. I’m just going to sit back and enjoy this.”
