SB 36 Champion New England Patriots - Super Bowl XXXVI - Superbowl XXXVI- Super Bowl 36 - New England Patriots - St Louis Rams

On the other side of the field, wide receiver David Patten was also a significant threat, catching 51 passes for 749 yards and 4 touchdowns. Running back Antowain Smith provided the team with a good rushing attack, rushing for 1,157 yards, catching 19 passes for 192 yards, and scoring 13 touchdowns.

New England also had a very solid defense. Up front, linemen Bobby Hamilton (7 sacks, 1 fumble recovery), and Richard Seymour excelled at pressuring quarterbacks and stuffing the run. Behind them, the Patriots had 3 superb linebackers in Mike Vrabel (2 interceptions, 3 sacks), Willie McGinest (5 sacks), and Tedy Bruschi (2 interceptions).

The Patriots' chances for a Super Bowl appearance seemed to be doomed barely after the season had begun. Before the season even started, quarterbacks coach Dick Rehbein died of a heart attack. The Patriots lost their first two games, and starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe suffered an injury that caused him to miss the rest of the regular season. His replacement was second-year quarterback Tom Brady, a sixth-round draft pick who had thrown only 3 passes in 2000. Then in the fourth game of the year, wide receiver Terry Glenn, their leading receiver in 2000, was benched for the rest of the season due to off the field problems.

But Brady surprised the league by having an outstanding regular season and leading New England to an 11-5 record. He completed 63.9 percent of his passes for 2,843 yards and 18 touchdowns with 12 interceptions and was selected to the Pro Bowl. Veteran Pro Bowl wide receiver Troy Brown was the main threat in the passing game, recording 101 receptions for 1,199 yards and 5 touchdowns, while also adding another 413 yards and 2 touchdowns returning punts.

But the biggest strength of the defense was their secondary. Defensive back Otis Smith led the team with 5 interceptions, which he returned for 181 yards and 2 touchdowns. Cornerback Ty Law intercepted 3 passes, returning them for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns. Safety Lawyer Milloy had 2 interceptions during the season, and was selected along with Law to represent the New England defense in the Pro Bowl.
In a precursor of things to come, the Patriots hosted the Rams in a nationally televised, ESPN Sunday night regular-season game eleven weeks prior to Super Bowl XXXVI. The underdog Patriots jumped out to an early lead before the Rams wore New England down in the second half and won 24-17.

Adam Vinatieri's 48-yard field goal as time expired gave the New England Patriots their first Super Bowl title.

The Rams outgained the Patriots 427-267 in total yards, but the Patriots forced three turnovers, which resulted in 17 points, while committing no turnovers.

Jeff Wilkins' 50-yard field goal capped a 10-play, 48-yard drive midway through the first quarter to give the Rams a 3-0 lead. The first turnover came with 8:49 left in the second quarter, when Ty Law stepped in front of an out-pattern pass intended for Isaac Bruce and raced 47 yards untouched down the left sideline into the end zone.

Late in the first half, Kurt Warner completed a 15-yard pass to Ricky Proehl to the Patriots' 40, but Antwan Harris forced Proehl to fumble and Terrell Buckley recovered. Five plays later, Tom Brady's 8-yard touchdown pass to David Patten with 21 seconds left in the quarter gave New England a 14-3 halftime lead.

Late in the third quarter, Torry Holt slipped coming off the line of scrimmage, and Otis Smith intercepted Warner's pass and returned it 30 yards to the Rams' 33 to set up Vinatieri's 37-yard field goal and a 17-3 lead.

The Rams responded by driving to the Patriots' 3. On fourth-and-goal, Warner scrambled, was tackled by Roman Phifer, and fumbled. Tebucky Jones picked up the ball and raced the length of the field for an apparent touchdown, but the play was negated by Willie McGinest's holding penalty.

Warner scored two plays later to trim the deficit to 17-10 with 9:31 left. The Patriots went three-and-out on their next two possessions, giving the Rams the ball on their 45-yard-line with 1:51 left.

Warner completed an 18-yard pass to Az-Zahir Hakim and an 11-yard pass to Yo Murphy before connecting on a 26-yard touchdown pass to Proehl with 1:30 left to tie the game.

Operating without any timeouts, Brady completed three short passes to J.R. Redmond to reach the Patriots' 41 with 33 seconds left. After an imcompletion, Brady completed 23- and 16-yard passes to Troy Brown and Jermaine Wiggins, respectively, to reach the Rams' 30, and then spiked the ball with seven seconds remaining.

Vinatieri drilled the 48-yard field-goal attempt, marking the first time in Super Bowl history the game had been won on the final play.

Brady, who earned Most Valuable Player honors, was 16 of 27 for 145 yards and one touchdown. Warner was 28 of 44 for 365 yards and one touchdown, with two interceptions.