Best Super Bowl Countdown - #5

On the heels of what was an amazing Super Bowl, I am counting down the 6 best Super Bowls since 1993, the first one I really remember. Next up on the list...

5. Super Bowl XXXVIII
New England 32, Carolina 29
February 2, 2004
Houston, TX

There was a lot of excitement for this game in the 2 weeks leading up to it. But for 26 minutes and 55 seconds, that excitement turned into boredom. That's because it took that long, a Super Bowl record, for either team to score. But once Tom Brady hooked up with Deion Branch with 3:05 left, the floodgates opened.

The Panthers responded with an 8-play, 95-yard drive capped off by a 35 yard TD reception from Steve Smith with 1:05 left. But the Pats had a counter-punch, connecting on a 52 yd catch from Branch that led to a 5-yd TD catch by David Givens. But Carolina wasn't done yet. A Pats squib kick backfired after a 21-yd run by Stephen Davis to set up a John Kasay FG to end a wild final 3:05 of the first half.

After an entertaining halftime show (wardrobe malfunction anyone?), the 3rd quarter looked a lot like the 1st: slow and scoreless. But these two teams left all the best action for the end. Antowain Smith scored two plays into the 4th quarter to make it 21-10 NE. The Panthers pounced though, scoring on a Deshaun Foster 33-yd TD run with 12:39 left. In a surprise move, they went for 2 and missed, leaving the score at 21-16.

The Panthers weren't done there. After New England marched to the Panthers 9-yd line, Reggiwe Howard picked off Brady's 3rd and goal pass. Two plays later, Jake Delhomme threw a Super Bowl record 85-yd TD pass to Mushin Muhammad and all the sudden, Carolina was ahead 22-21. The 2-pt conversion again no good.

Brady and the Pats though had a comeback ready. A 68-yard drive would end with a Brady pass to LB Mike Vrabel of all people for a TD and the lead. The Pats tacked on the 2-point conversion and were up 29-22 with 2:51 left.

But that's not all. No, not by a longshot. In a game that kept rocking back and forth, the Panthers mustered up another scoring drive, capped off by a Delhomme TD pass to Ricky Proehl. After a Kasay extra point, Super Bowl XXXVIII was tied at 29 with 1:08 left.

But of all the big plays in the game, the biggest may have come on the ensuing kickoff when Kasay's kick went out of bounds, giving the Patriots great field position at their own 40. Five plays later, Brady found Branch for 17 yards to set up Adam "Big Game" Vinatieri. Like he had just two years ago, Vinatieri kicked the game-winning field goal from 41 yards out.

The 37 points scored in the final quarter were a Super Bowl record for any quarter. The MVP went to Brady, who went 32/48 for 352 yds and 3 TDs. Delhomme in a losing effort played well too, going 16/33 for 323 yds and 3 TD. The Patriots had won their second Super Bowl in 3 years and deserved every bit of it after this wild affair.

Tomorrow, I'll reveal my 4th favorite Super Bowl. I hope you'll check back and see it. Until then, hope your Super Bowl XLIII hangover is slowly going away.