Top Ten Super Bowls of All Time – Part IV

#4

Carolina Pushes New England to the Limit

The first half was mostly defense, the second half was mostly offense.  With all that going for it, this ended up being one of the greatest – and most overlooked – Super Bowls of all time.  The Carolina Panthers took the hard road to reach the Super Bowl, winning on the road in dramatic fashion in St. Louis and later in Philadelphia.  New England was returning to the game after winning their first title two seasons earlier.  As the favorite, the Patriots were expected to run away with the game, but Carolina proved to be a worthy opponent, matching the New England offense score for unbelievable score.  Both quarterbacks also proved up to the challenge, putting up over 300 yards passing and three touchdowns each.  With what might be the greatest fourth quarter in Super Bowl history the two teams combined for five touchdowns, one on a Super Bowl record 85-yard bomb from Carolina’s Jake Delhomme to wide receiver Muhsin Muhammed.  With little time left in the fourth quarter, Delhomme threw his third touchdown pass, this one to Ricky Proehl, and after the extra-point the game was tied.  On the ensuing kickoff, however, Carolina kicker John Kasay’s kick flew out of bounds, giving New England the ball at their own 40-yard line to begin the game winning drive.  Tom Brady was flawless, leading the Patriots into field goal range, where Adam Vinatieri once again kicked the game-winning field goal at the end.  The game never gets it’s deserved recognition for it’s greatness, partially due to a certain unfortunate “wardrobe malfunction” during the halftime show that overshadowed what an incredibly great game it truly was.

New England Patriots 32 – Carolina Panthers 29