Vinatieri missed a 31-yard field goal on the Patriots’ first possession, and had a 36-yard attempt blocked by Shane Burton with 6:00 left in the second quarter. But three plays later, Mike Vrabel sacked Jake Delhomme and forced him to fumble. Richard Seymour recovered at the Panthers’ 20, and a 12-yard scramble by Tom Brady on third-and-7 set up his 5-yard touchdown pass to Deion Branch with 3:05 left in the first half.

The Panthers responded with an 8-play, 95-yard drive capped by Delhomme’s 39-yard perfectly placed touchdown pass to Steve Smith with 1:07 left in the half. Delhomme beat the blitz by lofting the pass deep down the left sideline.

Brady’s 52-yard pass to Branch with 37 seconds left in the half set up David Givens’ 5-yard touchdown catch with 18 seconds left. New England squibbed the ensuing kickoff and Kris Mangum returned it 12 yards to the Panthers’ 47. A 21-yard run by Stephen Davis set up John Kasay’s 50-yard field goal as the half expired for a 14-10 New England lead.

Neither team scored in the third quarter, but Antowain Smith’s 2-yard touchdown run two plays into the final quarter capped a 71-yard drive and gave the Patriots a 21-10 lead.

Undaunted, Carolina scored on its next two possessions.

First, Delhomme completed passes of 18 and 22 yards to Smith to set up DeShaun Foster’s 33-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 21-16 with 12:39 to play. Carolina went for the 2-point conversion, but Delhomme’s pass was incomplete.

New England marched to the Panthers’ 9 with the ensuing kickoff, but Reggie Howard intercepted Brady’s third-and-goal pass in the end zone. Two plays later, Delhomme rolled left and fired a Super-Bowl record 85-yard touchdown pass to Muhammad for a 22-21 lead with 6:53 left. Once again, the Panthers went for 2 points and Delhomme’s pass was incomplete.

New England drove 68 yards on its next possession, with Givens catching a 25-yard pass and 18-yard pass on third-and-9, to set up Brady’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Vrabel, who was lined up as a tight end. A direct snap to Kevin Faulk resulted in a 2-point conversion for a 29-22 lead with 2:51 left.

Delhomme completed passes of 19 yards to Muhammad and 31 yards to Ricky Proehl before finding Proehl from 12 yards with the tying touchdown with 1:08 remaining.

Kasay’s ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, giving New England the ball at their own 40. Five plays later, faced with third-and-3 from the Panthers’ 40 with 14 seconds left, Brady fired a 17-yard pass to Branch to set up Vinatieri’s Super Bowl-winning 41-yard field goal.

Brady, who was named the Super Bowl most valuable player for the second time in his career, was 32 of 48 for 354 yards and 3 touchdowns with 1 interception. Branch had 10 receptions for 143 yards. Delhomme was 16 of 33 for 323 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Muhammad had 4 catches for 140 yards.