Super Bowl XXXVIII Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game played on February 1 , 2004 at Reliant Stadium in Houston , Texas to decide the National Football League ( NFL ) champion following the 2003 regular season . The American Football Conference ( AFC ) champion New England Patriots ( 17 - 2 ) defeated the National Football Conference ( NFC ) champion Carolina Panthers ( 14 - 6 ) , with a score of 32 – 29 . New England quarterback Tom Brady was named Most Valuable Player for the second time in three years . He set a Super Bowl record for the most pass completions ( 32 ) . Brady also recorded a 66 . 7 completion percentage ( 48 pass attempts ) , 354 passing yards , 3 touchdowns , 1 interception , and 12 rushing yards . At the time , this was the most watched Super Bowl ever with 144 . 4 million viewers . NFL fans and sports writers widely consider it one of the most well - played and exciting Super Bowls . After the game , " Sports Illustrated " writer Peter King hailed it as the " Greatest Super Bowl of all time . " This was the first and , to date , the only time the Panthers played in a Super Bowl . Both the Patriots and the Panthers are two of only three NFL teams to use a region name ( as opposed to city or state name ) as their geographic identifier with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ( who ' d won Super Bowl XXXVII the year before ) being the other . Background . NFL owners voted to award Super Bowl XXXVIII to Houston during their November 1 , 2000 meeting . This was the first Super Bowl to be played in a stadium with a retractable roof ( but it was eventually closed during the game ) . It also marked the first time in 4 tries that the Patriots played a Super Bowl that was not in New Orleans . This game marked a six - month stretch for Texas hosting the Super Bowl , Men ' s Final Four and Major League Baseball All - Star Game . The Final Four was at the Alamodome in San Antonio and the All - Star game was also in Houston at nearby Minute Maid Park . The Panthers go from 1 - 15 to the Super Bowl . The Panthers made their first trip to the Super Bowl after posting a one - win regular season just two years earlier . The franchise was only in their ninth year of existence , joining the league as an expansion team in 1995 . In just their second season , they posted a 12 - 4 regular season record and advanced to the NFC Championship Game , but lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers 30 - 13 . But from 1997 onward , they had just one non - losing season ( an 8 - 8 finish in 1999 ) until they finally suffered through a franchise worst 1 - 15 record in 2001 , winning only the first game of the regular season against the Minnesota Vikings . After that year , head coach George Seifert was relieved of his duties and replaced by John Fox , former defensive coordinator for the New York Giants who helped lead the Giants to Super Bowl XXXV in 2000 . With Fox at the helm and the team taking advantage of the free agent market and the salary cap rules , the Panthers improved in 2002 , finishing with a 7 - 9 record . Then in 2003 , they recorded an 11 - 5 record and won the NFC South . One of the free agents that Carolina signed before the 2003 season was quarterback Jake Delhomme . Delhomme was not picked by any team in the NFL Draft , but later joined the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 1998 . Delhomme also then played for the NFL Europe ' s Frankfurt Galaxy in 1999 , and along with Pat Barnes , he was part of the " double - headed quarterback monster " that led the Galaxy to a World Bowl victory over the Barcelona Dragons . Although he only played 6 games in his 5 seasons with New Orleans , the Panthers signed Delhomme in 2003 to be the backup to starting quarterback Rodney Peete . However , after the Panthers fell to a 17 - 0 third quarter deficit in their first game of the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars , gaining only one first down and 36 offensive yards , Fox immediately replaced Peete with Delhomme . Delhomme ended up leading Carolina to a 24 - 23 comeback victory over the Jaguars . Delhomme became the team ' s starting quarterback for the rest of the season , throwing for 3 , 219 yards and 19 touchdowns , with 16 interceptions . The team ' s main receiving threat was multi - talented third - year wide receiver Steve Smith , who also specialized as a kickoff and punt returner . Smith caught 88 passes for 1 , 110 yards and 7 touchdowns , rushed for 42 yards , gained 439 yards and another touchdown returning punts , and recorded 309 kickoff return yards . Wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad was also a constant breakaway threat , recording 54 receptions for 837 yards and 3 touchdowns . However , the Panthers ' strength on offense was their running game , led by running backs Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster . Davis was the team ' s leading rusher with a franchise record 1 , 444 yards and 8 touchdowns , while Foster rushed for 429 yards and caught 26 passes for 207 yards . Carolina also had running back Rod Smart on their roster , who became widely known for his XFL debut jersey name " He Hate Me " during that league ' s only season in 2001 . During 2003 , Smart was primarily used as the Panthers ' other kickoff returner , recording 947 yards and one touchdown . On defense , Carolina ' s main strength was their defensive line , anchored by defensive ends Julius Peppers ( 7 sacks and 3 forced fumbles ) and Mike Rucker ( 12 sacks and 1 interception ) , and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kris Jenkins ( 5 sacks and 1 fumble recovery ) . The secondary was led by defensive backs Reggie Howard ( 2 interceptions ) , Mike Minter ( 3 interceptions for 100 return yards and 2 touchdowns ) , Deon Grant ( 3 interceptions ) , and Ricky Manning Jr . ( 3 interceptions for 33 return yards and 1 touchdown ) . The Patriots go for two out of three . Despite their victory in Super Bowl XXXVI after the 2001 season , the Patriots stumbled early in the 2002 season , recorded a 9 - 7 regular season record , and failed to make the playoffs . Then , New England seemed to implode before the 2003 season ever started . Five days before their opening game against the Buffalo Bills , Pro Bowl safety Lawyer Milloy , one of the Patriots ' defensive leaders , was unexpectedly cut by the team after refusing to restructure his contract . The move devastated many of the New England players , while Milloy immediately signed with the Bills two days later . With the Patriots seemingly in emotional disarray , Buffalo defeated New England , 31 – 0 , with Milloy forcing an interception and recording one sack and five tackles . However , after a 2 – 2 start , the Patriots ended up winning their last 12 games ( including a mirror 31 – 0 shutout of the Bills in the final week ) to earn a league - best 14 – 2 record . Tom Brady , the Super Bowl XXXVI MVP , had become the team ' s permanent starter in 2002 after quarterback Drew Bledsoe left the team to lead the Bills . Brady had a solid season in 2003 , completing 317 out of 527 ( 60 . 2 percent ) of his passes for 3 , 620 yards and 23 touchdowns , with only 12 interceptions . His primary weapon was second year wide receiver Deion Branch , who caught 57 passes for 803 yards . Another key contributor was wide receiver David Givens , who filled in for the injured starter David Patten . Givens recorded 34 receptions for 510 yards and 6 touchdowns . Other weapons in the passing game included veteran wide receiver Troy Brown , who had 40 receptions , 472 yards , 4 touchdowns , and 293 yards returning punts , and tight end Daniel Graham who recorded 28 catches , 409 yards , and 4 touchdowns . In the backfield , the team ' s rushing game was led by running backs Antowain Smith and Kevin Faulk , who carried the ball equally . Smith was the team ' s leading rusher with 642 yards and 3 touchdowns , while Faulk rushed for 638 yards and caught 48 passes for 440 yards . New England ' s defense was retooled before the 2003 season when the team signed veteran safety Rodney Harrison and defensive lineman Ted Washington as free agents . With these additions , the Patriots led the league in fewest passing yards allowed per attempt ( 5 . 64 ) , fewest passing touchdowns allowed ( 11 ) , and most interceptions ( 29 ) . They also ranked 4th in fewest rushing yards allowed ( 1 , 434 ) and 7th in fewest total yards ( 4 , 919 ) . Washington helped anchor New England ' s defensive line , recording 32 tackles and 2 sacks . Pro Bowl defensive tackle Richard Seymour also contributed with 8 sacks . Behind them , the Patriots had 3 outstanding linebackers : Pro bowler Willie McGinest ( 5 . 5 sacks , 2 fumble recoveries and 1 interception ) , Mike Vrabel ( 9 . 5 sacks , 1 fumble recovery , four forced fumbles , and 2 interceptions ) , and Tedy Bruschi ( 131 tackles , 2 sacks , 1 fumble recovery , 3 interceptions , and 2 touchdowns ) . Harrison became the veteran leader in the secondary , recording 92 tackles , 3 interceptions , and 3 sacks . Meanwhile , Pro Bowl cornerback Ty Law recorded 6 interceptions , cornerback ( and ex - Panther ) Tyrone Poole had 6 interceptions for 112 return yards and 1 touchdown , and rookie safety Eugene Wilson recorded 4 interceptions . Overall , the secondary combined for 19 interceptions . Common opponents of both teams . The Patriots and Panthers both played against the AFC South and NFC East in the regular season . The Patriots lost to the Washington Redskins 20 - 17 in Week Four but swept the rest of the NFC East and the entire AFC South ; the Patriots shut out Dallas in bitter cold and edged the Giants in the rain while hammering Philly following the infamously erroneous " They hate their coach " quote from Tom Jackson ; the Patriots also edged the Titans , Houston in overtime , and former division rival Indianapolis in shootouts while routing Jacksonville ( which also entered the NFL in 1995 ) in the regular season , and then edged the Titans and hammered the Colts in the playoffs . The Panthers had less success , going 6 - 4 against the two divisions , losing to the Titans and Houston while defeating Jacksonville and the Colts , and defeating Washington and the Giants while losing to Philly and Dallas in the regular season , then routing the Cowboys and edging the Eagles in the playoffs . VS . Jacksonville Jaguars VS . Philadelphia Eagles VS . Washington Redskins VS . Tennessee Titans VS . New York Giants VS . Indianapolis Colts VS . Houston Texans VS . Dallas Cowboys Playoffs . Since the Panthers finished with the third best regular season record in the NFC , they had to win three playoff games to reach the Super Bowl . The St . Louis Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles had better regular season records at 12 - 4 , and thus under the playoff format , each would have to win two playoff games to reach the league championship game . Against Carolina ' s first opponent , the Dallas Cowboys , Delhomme threw for 273 yards and a touchdown , Davis recorded 104 rushing yards and a touchdown , and kicker John Kasay made 5 field goals , en route to a thorough 29 – 10 victory . The Panthers then eliminated the Rams on the road , 29 - 23 in double overtime . St . Louis built a 6 - 0 lead early in the second quarter , but Carolina took the lead after Muhammad ' s fumble recovery in the end zone . Both teams spent the rest of the second and the third quarter exchanging field goals before Brad Hoover ' s 7 - yard rushing touchdown gave the Panthers a 23 - 12 fourth quarter lead . However , the Rams rallied back with a touchdown , a successful two - point conversion , and a field goal to send the game into overtime . Both teams missed field goals in the first overtime period , but Delhomme threw a 69 - yard touchdown pass to Smith on the first play of the second overtime period to win the game . The Panthers then went on the road again to eliminate the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game , 14 - 3 . Philadelphia was coming off of a 20 - 17 overtime win over the Green Bay Packers , that included quarterback Donovan McNabb ' s 28 - yard pass to Freddie Mitchell on a famous play known as " 4th and 26 " . This was the third consecutive NFC Championship Game appearance for Philadelphia , and thus they were heavily favored to win . But Carolina ' s defense only allowed a field goal and held McNabb to just 10 of 22 completions for 100 yards . Ricky Manning also intercepted McNabb 3 times . Although Carolina ' s offense only scored 14 points , it was more than enough for the team to earn their first trip to the Super Bowl with a 14 - 3 win . The Panthers became the first No . 3 seed to advance to the Super Bowl since the league expanded to a 12 - team playoff format in 1990 . In doing so , they were also the first division winner to advance to the league championship after playing " three " playoff games . All other instances up to this point where teams advanced to the Super Bowl after playing all three rounds of the playoffs were wild card teams in Super Bowls XV , XX , XXVII , XXXII , XXXIV , and XXXV . Prior to Super Bowl XVII , the Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins both won three playoff games to reach the Super Bowl , but that came during the strike - shortened 1982 season when the regular season was reduced to nine games and the playoffs were expanded to 16 teams , with no teams receiving first - round byes . Since then , there have been four instances of teams advancing to the Super Bowl after playing three playoff games : the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL as the No . 6 seeded team , the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLI as the No . 3 seed , the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII as the No . 5 seed , and the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII as the No . 4 seed . The Colts and Cardinals , like the Panthers , were division winners in those years ( Although in the Colts case , they played the No . 4 seeded New England Patriots in the AFC Championship that year , ensuring at least the second division winner to play three rounds to make it to the Super Bowl . ) , and all but the Cardinals went on to win it all . The Super Bowl would mark the third game ( out of four ) of the playoffs in which Carolina scored 29 points . Meanwhile , the Patriots first defeated the Tennessee Titans , 17 - 14 , in one of the coldest games in NFL history , with temperatures reaching 4°F ( - 15°C ) . New England jumped to 14 - 7 lead in the first half with a touchdown pass by Brady and a touchdown run from Smith . However , quarterback Steve McNair ' s 11 - yard touchdown pass to receiver Derrick Mason tied the game in the third period . With 4 : 06 remaining in the game , Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri made a 46 - yard field goal to take the lead . New England ' s defense later clinched a victory as they stopped the Titans from scoring on fourth down on their last drive of the game . New England then eliminated the Indianapolis Colts , 24 - 14 , in the AFC Championship Game . The Colts entered the game leading the NFL in passing yards and ranked third in total offensive yards . With quarterback Peyton Manning , wide receiver Marvin Harrison , and running back Edgerrin James , the Colts had scored 79 points in their 2 playoff victories against the Denver Broncos and the Kansas City Chiefs , including a 38 - 31 victory over the Chiefs in the first puntless game in NFL playoff history . However , New England ' s defense dominated the Colts , only allowing 14 points , intercepting 4 passes from Manning ( 3 of them by Law ) , and forcing a safety . Although New England ' s offense only scored one touchdown , Vinatieri scored 5 field goals to make up the difference . Television and entertainment . The game was broadcast in the United States by CBS with Greg Gumbel handling the play - by - play duties and color commentator Phil Simms in the broadcast booth . Armen Keteyian and Bonnie Bernstein roamed the sidelines . Jim Nantz hosted all the events with help from his fellow cast members from " The NFL Today " : Dan Marino , Deion Sanders , and Boomer Esiason . Pregame ceremonies . Both teams passed on the opportunity for their starters to be introduced individually before the game , a move perpetuated by the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI . The game was held exactly one year after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster . To honor the one year anniversary of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster , American singer Josh Groban performed " You Raise Me Up " . Also appearing on the field was the crew of STS - 114 , the " Return to Flight " Space Shuttle mission that eventually launched " Space Shuttle Discovery " on July 26 , 2005 . Houston - born R & B singer Beyoncé , then sang the national anthem . The coin toss ceremony featured former NFL players and Texas natives Earl Campbell , Ollie Matson , Don Maynard , Y . A . Tittle , Mike Singletary , Gene Upshaw . Tittle tossed the coin . The NFL logo was painted at midfield for the first time since Super Bowl XXX , and the Super Bowl XXXVIII logo was placed on the 25 - yard lines . From Super Bowls XXXI through XXXVII , the Super Bowl logo was painted at midfield , and the helmets of the teams painted at the 30 - yard lines . From Super Bowl VI through Super Bowl XXX , the NFL logo was painted on the 50 - yard line , except for Super Bowls XXV and XXIX . The Super Bowl XXV logo was painted at midfield and the NFL logo was painted at each 35 - yard line . In Super Bowl XXIX , the NFL 75th Anniversary logo was painted at midfield with the Super Bowl logo at each 30 - yard line . Halftime show . The most widely discussed moment of Super Bowl XXXVIII came during halftime . The show was produced by Viacom ' s MTV and CBS Sports , and was sponsored by America Online ' s TopSpeed software for dial - up Internet service . The show was themed supposedly around MTV ' s Rock the Vote campaign , however beyond some flag imagery and a vague call to action for younger persons to vote in a celebrity montage the first minute of the program , the theme was not called out for the remainder of the show . After a brief appearance by Jessica Simpson , the show began with a joint performance by marching bands the Spirit of Houston , from the University of Houston , and the " Ocean of Soul " of Texas Southern University . Next , Janet Jackson made her first appearance , singing " All for You " . Then , P . Diddy , Nelly , and Kid Rock appeared in that order and performed a mixture of their hits . After Jackson ' s performance of her song " Rhythm Nation " , Justin Timberlake appeared , and he and Jackson sang a duet of Timberlake ' s song " Rock Your Body " . The performance featured many suggestive dance moves by both Timberlake and Jackson . As the song reached the final line , " I ' m gonna have you naked by the end of this song , " Timberlake pulled off a part of Jackson ' s costume , revealing her outer right breast ( adorned with a large , sun - shaped nipple shield , a piece of jewellery worn to accentuate the appearance of a nipple piercing ) . CBS immediately cut to an aerial view of the stadium , but the damage had been done . Many people considered this indecent exposure , and numerous viewers contacted the network to complain , saying it was inappropriate in the context of a football game . This was the most rewatched moment in TiVo history . Just before the start of the second half , a British streaker , Mark Roberts , ran onto the field disguised as a referee , undressed , and performed a dance wearing only a thong . He was tackled to the ground by Patriots linebacker Matt Chatham and arrested . It is not custom for American television to zoom in on such events , but it was later shown on Late Show with David Letterman . He received a $ 1000 fine for trespassing . Commercials . Memorable television commercials that aired during the game included Frito - Lay ’ s “ Dentures ” and Pepsi ’ s “ The Bears . ” ADBOWL ranked Budweiser ’ s “ Donkey Dream ” as the best commercial of the year . Game summary . Most of the first half was a defensive struggle , with neither team able to score until late in the second quarter , despite several early scoring opportunities for New England . After Carolina was forced to punt on their opening drive , Patriots receiver Troy Brown gave his team great field position with a 28 - yard return to the Panthers 47 - yard line . The Patriots subsequently marched to the 9 - yard line , but Carolina kept them out of the end zone and Adam Vinatieri missed a 31 - yard field goal attempt . The Patriots forced Carolina to punt after 3 plays and again got the ball with great field position , receiving Todd Sauerbrun ' s 40 - yard punt at the Panthers 49 - yard line . New England then drove to the 31 - yard line , but on third down , linebacker Will Witherspoon tackled Brown for a 10 - yard loss on an end - around play , pushing the Patriots out of field goal range . Later on , New England drove 57 yards to the Panthers 18 - yard line with 6 minutes left in the second period , but once again they failed to score as Carolina kept them out of the end zone and Vinatieri ' s 36 - yard field goal attempt was blocked by Panthers defender Shane Burton . Meanwhile , the Carolina offense was stymied by the New England defense , with quarterback Jake Delhomme completing just one out of his first nine passes , sacked three times , and fumbling once . That fumble occurred 3 plays after Vinatieri ' s second missed field goal ; Delhomme lost the ball while being sacked by linebacker Mike Vrabel , and Patriots defensive tackle Richard Seymour recovered the ball at the Panthers 20 - yard line ; by this point of the game the Panthers had suffered a net loss of nine yards on twenty offensive snaps . Two plays later , New England faced a third down and 7 , but quarterback Tom Brady scrambled 12 yards to the 5 - yard line for a first down . Then wide receiver Deion Branch caught a 5 - yard touchdown pass from Brady on the next play . Branch ' s touchdown came after 26 : 55 had elapsed in the game , setting the record for the longest amount of time a Super Bowl remained scoreless . The play also suddenly set off a scoring explosion from both teams for the remainder of the first half . The Panthers stormed down the field on their ensuing possession , driving 95 yards in 8 plays , and tying the game on a 39 - yard touchdown pass from Delhomme to wide receiver Steve Smith with just 1 : 07 left in the half . The Patriots immediately countered with a 6 - play , 78 - yard scoring drive of their own . Starting from their own 22 - yard line , Brady completed a 12 - yard pass to wide receiver David Givens . Then after throwing an incompletion , Brady completed a long pass to Branch , who caught it at the Panthers 24 - yard line in stride before being tackled at the 14 - yard line for a 52 - yard gain . Three plays later , Givens caught a 5 - yard touchdown from Brady to give New England a 14 – 7 lead with only 18 seconds left in the half . The Patriots decided to squib kick the ensuing kickoff to prevent a long return , but their plan backfired as Carolina tight end Kris Mangum picked up the ball at his own 35 - yard line and returned it 12 yards to the 47 . The Patriots expected a pass play from the Panthers , but instead running back Stephen Davis ran for 21 yards on the next play to set up kicker John Kasay ' s 50 - yard field goal as time expired in the half , cutting Carolina ' s deficit to 14 – 10 . The third quarter was scoreless as each team exchanged punts twice . But with 3 : 57 left in the period , the Patriots put together a 71 - yard , 8 - play scoring drive , featuring tight end Daniel Graham ' s 33 - yard reception to advance to the Carolina 9 - yard line . Running back Antowain Smith then capped off the drive with a 2 - yard touchdown run on the second play on the final period to increase their lead , 21 – 10 . This was the start of another scoring explosion , one that became one of the biggest explosions in Super Bowl history , with both teams scoring a combined 37 points in the last 15 minutes , the most ever in a single quarter of a Super Bowl . Delhomme started out Carolina ' s ensuing drive with a 13 - yard completion to wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad . After committing a false start penalty on the next play , Delhomme completed a pair of passes to Smith for gains of 18 and 22 yards . Running back DeShaun Foster then scored on a 33 - yard touchdown run , cutting the Panthers ' deficit to 21 - 16 after Delhomme ' s 2 - point conversion pass fell incomplete . The Patriots responded on their ensuing possession by driving all the way to Carolina ' s 9 - yard line , but the drive ended when Panthers defensive back Reggie Howard intercepted a third down pass from Brady in the end zone . Then on 3rd down from his own 15 - yard line , Delhomme threw for the longest play from scrimmage in Super Bowl history , an 85 - yard touchdown completion to Muhammad . Carolina ' s 2 - point conversion attempt failed again , but they took their first lead of the game , 22 - 21 , with 6 : 53 remaining . It was the first time in Super Bowl history a team down 10 + points during the 4th quarter had come back to take the lead . Two other times teams came back to tie the game ; the Tennessee Titans against the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV and the Rams against the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI . However , New England retook the lead on their next drive , advancing 68 yards with the aid of a pair of completions from Brady to Givens for gains of 18 and 25 yards . Once again the Patriots were faced with third down and goal , but this time they scored with Brady ' s 1 - yard pass to Vrabel , who had lined up in an eligible tight end position . Then on a two - point conversion attempt , running back Kevin Faulk took a direct snap and ran into the end zone to make the score 29 - 22 . Despite amassing over 1 , 000 combined yards , Kevin Faulk ' s two - point conversion constituted the only points he scored all season . The Panthers countered on their next possession . Foster started the drive with a 9 - yard run and a 7 - yard reception . After that , Delhomme completed a 19 - yard pass to Muhammad , followed by a 31 - yard completion to receiver Ricky Proehl . Then Proehl , who caught the fourth quarter game tying touchdown pass against the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI 2 years earlier for the St . Louis Rams , finished the drive with a 12 - yard touchdown reception . Kasay ' s ensuing extra point tied the game , 29 - 29 , with 1 : 08 to play in regulation and it appeared that the game would be the first Super Bowl ever to go into overtime . However , Kasay kicked the ensuing kickoff out of bounds , giving New England the ball on their own 40 - yard line . Brady calmly led the Patriots offense down the field with a 13 - yard pass to Brown on second down . An offensive pass interference penalty on Brown pushed New England back to their own 43 - yard line , but another 13 - yard reception to Brown and a 4 - yard pass to Graham brought up a critical 3rd down and 3 from the Carolina 40 - yard line . The Panthers defense could not prevent the Patriots from gaining the first down , as Brady completed a clutch 17 - yard pass to Branch . On the next play , Vinatieri kicked a 41 - yard field goal to give New England the lead , 32 - 29 , with four seconds left in the game . Carolina failed on their last chance , as Rod Smart went nowhere on the ensuing kickoff , and the Patriots had won their second Super Bowl in three years . This was the fourth Super Bowl to be decided on a field goal in the final seconds . Super Bowl V was won on a last second kick by Jim O ' Brien , Super Bowl XXV had Scott Norwood miss his field goal chance , and in Super Bowl XXXVI , Adam Vinatieri made his . Final statistics . Overview . Delhomme finished the game with 16 completions out of 33 attempts for 323 yards , three touchdowns , and no interceptions for a passer rating of 113 . 6 . Muhsin Muhammad caught four passes for 140 yards , an average of 35 yards per catch , and a touchdown . Steve Smith caught four passes for 80 yards and a touchdown . He also returned a punt for two yards , and returned a kickoff for 30 yards , giving him 112 total yards . Proehl caught four passes for 71 yards and a touchdown . Proehl joined Jerry Rice as only two players to score touchdowns with two different teams in Super Bowls . Tom Brady ' s 32 completions were the most in Super Bowl history . His 48 attempts were the most for a winning quarterback . His 354 yards passing is now the fifth best total in Super Bowl history . Brady ' s passer rating for this game was 100 . 5 . Branch was the top receiver of the game with 10 receptions for 143 yards and a touchdown . Brown caught 8 passes for 76 yards , and returned four punts for 40 yards . Antowain Smith was the top rusher of the game with 83 yards and a touchdown . The game set a number of marks for offensive production . The two teams combined for 868 yards of total offense , the second - highest total in Super Bowl history . Both starting quarterbacks threw for at least 300 yards for only the second time in Super Bowl history , with Dan Marino and Joe Montana each passing for at least 300 yards in Super Bowl XIX . This was also only the second Super Bowl to feature one 100 - yard receiving performance on each team , with Deion Branch and Muhsin Muhammad each reaching 100 yards . Andre Reed and Michael Irvin first accomplished the feat in Super Bowl XXVII . The 37 total points scored in the 4th quarter were the most combined points in a 4th quarter in a Super Bowl and the most in any quarter by two teams . Washington ' s 35 points in Super Bowl XXII was the previous high for most combined points in a single quarter in a Super Bowl . The fourth quarter was the second in Super Bowl history to have five touchdowns scored in a single quarter , the first being when the Redskins had five in Super Bowl XXII in the second quarter . It was also the first time in Super Bowl history that both teams would score at least two touchdowns in the same quarter . The Patriots ' Super Bowl win was the first of three championships won by Boston - area teams within a span of 12 months . The Red Sox followed it with the death of the Curse of the Bambino 8 months later and the Patriots themselves winning Super Bowl XXXIX . In addition it was one of the 7 championships won by the city of Boston between 2001 - 2011 , including one for each of the four major American sports ( Red Sox 2004 , 2007 Patrots 2001 , 2003 , 2004 , Celtics 2008 , Bruins 2011 .