By winning their third Super Bowl in four
years, the Patriots joined the Dallas Cowboys as the only teams ever to do so.
The Cowboys won Super Bowls XXVII, XVIII and XXX (1992-93 and '95 seasons).
The Patriots became the seventh franchise to win three Super Bowls.
The Patriots extended their playoff streak to
nine in a row, tying the Green Bay Packers (1961-67) for the most in NFL
history. Their last postseason loss came on Jan. 3, 1999 when the Jaguars beat
them 25-10 in the 1998 wild-card game at Alltel Stadium.
Prior to the game Mitchell said he only knew
the Patriots' secondary by their jersey numbers and that he had
"something" for New England's defensive backs. Mitchell was
silenced as he finished with one catch for 11 yards, while Harrison collected
seven tackles and a sack to go with his two picks.
Harrison ended the game and the Eagles'
comeback hopes with a pick on Philadelphia's 28-yard line with nine seconds
left.
The game was characterized by miscues from the Eagle offense and
quarterback Donovan McNabb from the onset. Immediately after
having an interception by cornerback Asante Samuel called back because of a
penalty, McNabb lofted a ball toward the end zone that Harrison
intercepted in front of intended running back Brian Westbrook.
McNabb seemed confused by New England's ''Cali
Defense'' which featured a switch to a more traditional four-man
defensive line, and his critical mistakes mostly came in the first half when
the Eagles were in excellent position to get several early scores and put the
game away.
Even the heroic efforts from Terrell Owens was not enough.
Owens had been sidelined for the team's final
four contests after sustaining a broken fibula and a severely sprained right
ankle in a December 19 win against Dallas. Surgery was then performed a few
days later and questions about his availability for a trip to the Super
Bowl lingered. Yet playing with a metal plate and two screws in his
right ankle, Owen finished the game with nine receptions for 122 yards.
And after finally making it to the big show
the feeling of being so close to victory left Reid
eager to take another shot at a championship. "The
positive you get out of it is that the guys got a taste of it and I'm sure
they will want to come back," Reid
said. "It's a great experience. It's a great football game."
"I told my guys they really
battled," Reid said after the game. "We could have done a better job
putting our guys in better position to make plays offensively. But I was proud
of the effort my guys gave."