Claim: Tom Brady is a person who plays quarterback.

Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference -LRB- NFC -RRB- champion Carolina Panthers and the American Football Conference -LRB- AFC -RRB- champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League -LRB- NFL -RRB- champion for the 2003 season . The Patriots defeated the Panthers by the score of 32 -- 29 , winning their second Super Bowl championship in three years . The game was played at Reliant Stadium in Houston , Texas , on February 1 , 2004 . At the time , this was the most watched Super Bowl ever with 144.4 million viewers .   The Panthers were making their first ever Super Bowl appearance after posting an 11 -- 5 regular season record . They also made it the second straight year that a team from the NFC South division made the Super Bowl , with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning Super Bowl XXXVII . The Patriots were seeking their second Super Bowl title in three years after posting a 14 -- 2 record .   NFL fans and sports writers widely consider this game one of the most well-played and thrilling Super Bowls ; Sports Illustrated writer Peter King hailed it as the `` Greatest Super Bowl of all time . '' Although neither team could score in the first and third quarters , they both ended up with a combined total of 868 yards and 61 points . The game was scoreless for a Super Bowl record 26:55 before the two teams combined for 24 points prior to halftime . The clubs then combined for a Super Bowl record 37 points in the fourth quarter . The contest was finally decided on New England kicker Adam Vinatieri 's 41-yard field goal with four seconds left . Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was named Super Bowl MVP for the second time in three years . He set a Super Bowl record for the most pass completions -LRB- 32 -RRB- , completing 66.7 percent of his passes and accumulating 354 passing yards , 3 touchdowns , and 12 rushing yards . Jake Delhomme for his part overcame the poor start with 323 passing yards and three touchdowns . The 61 combined points stood as a Super Bowl record until the 62 points scored in Super Bowl LI in 2017 .   The game is also known for its controversial halftime show in which Janet Jackson 's breast , adorned with a nipple shield , was exposed by Justin Timberlake for about half a second , in what was later referred to as a `` wardrobe malfunction '' . Along with the rest of the halftime show , it led to an immediate crackdown by the Federal Communications Commission -LRB- FCC -RRB- , and widespread debate on perceived indecency in broadcasting .