2008 Woodie Awards
A City of Champions
Dominic Delgardo
Issue date: 2/9/05 Section: Sports
A dynasty is born. The New England Patriots won their third Super Bowl in the last four seasons last night after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21. It was a win that followed suit with the motto these New England Patriots have lived by since Coach Bill Belichick took over 4 seasons ago. That motto could be summed up as "team before self," and it is carried out from the bottom to the top of this championship organization.
"The NFL is the great leveler of all sports," said franchise owner Bob Craft. "The Super Bowl is the highest form of competition. I'm proud that we were able to win this Super Bowl stressing team, and not individual accomplishments."
After a defensive first quarter, where the Patriots moved only 33 yards in 4 drives and the Eagles pushed the chains 64 yards, the scoring began in the second quarter with a 6 yard pass to L.J. Smith for a Philadelphia touchdown. New England quickly answered back less than 6 minutes later with a 4 yard pass to David Givens.
The third quarter began with another Patriots Touchdown from Brady to Vrabel, who doubled up as both a linebacker and tight-end. Philadelphia answered back with a Brian Westbrook touchdown on a 10 yard pass from quarterback Donovan McNabb. First season Patriot Corey Dillon finished up the third quarter with a 2 yard touchdown run to put New England up 21-14.
Adam Vinateiri put the Pats up 10 points with a 22 yard field goal with 9 minutes to go in the 4th quarter. With plenty of time left, the Eagles let the clock dwindle away by using no timeouts in their scoring drive late in the 4th quarter. Philadelphia kicker David Akers muffed the onside kick with under 2 minutes left and New England went on to seal the victory.
New England had great performances from every aspect of their game. With Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch's 11 receptions for 133 yards, and Brady's 236 yards passing, the Pats also took help from unsung hero Tedy Bruschi who had an interception and a sack, and Rodney Harrison who came up with two huge interceptions.
"The NFL is the great leveler of all sports," said franchise owner Bob Craft. "The Super Bowl is the highest form of competition. I'm proud that we were able to win this Super Bowl stressing team, and not individual accomplishments."
After a defensive first quarter, where the Patriots moved only 33 yards in 4 drives and the Eagles pushed the chains 64 yards, the scoring began in the second quarter with a 6 yard pass to L.J. Smith for a Philadelphia touchdown. New England quickly answered back less than 6 minutes later with a 4 yard pass to David Givens.
The third quarter began with another Patriots Touchdown from Brady to Vrabel, who doubled up as both a linebacker and tight-end. Philadelphia answered back with a Brian Westbrook touchdown on a 10 yard pass from quarterback Donovan McNabb. First season Patriot Corey Dillon finished up the third quarter with a 2 yard touchdown run to put New England up 21-14.
Adam Vinateiri put the Pats up 10 points with a 22 yard field goal with 9 minutes to go in the 4th quarter. With plenty of time left, the Eagles let the clock dwindle away by using no timeouts in their scoring drive late in the 4th quarter. Philadelphia kicker David Akers muffed the onside kick with under 2 minutes left and New England went on to seal the victory.
New England had great performances from every aspect of their game. With Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch's 11 receptions for 133 yards, and Brady's 236 yards passing, the Pats also took help from unsung hero Tedy Bruschi who had an interception and a sack, and Rodney Harrison who came up with two huge interceptions.