No.1 Patriots edge past Panthers in the first Houston Classic

Well, this is it my favourite Super Bowl of all time, and it has it all points, turnovers and a defensive showdown, with two very different half's.  If you thought Super Bowl 51 in Houston was good, this one was good, and it's the most underrated Super Bowl of all-time. This is Super Bowl 38 New England vs Carolina. Before I carry on, I want to give honourable mentions to the matches on that I haven't put on the list. They are Super Bowl 39, Super Bowl 40, 41, 48 and last year's. The reason why I didn't mention last years was that I reviewed it at the time, but if you want me to do a review on the matches, I'll do them. In Super Bowl 38 these were two very different teams. As the Patriots well they were still reliving the memories of their first win two years earlier; meanwhile, the Panthers were in a place that no one expected them to turn up at, around the same time as the Pats were celebrating.

A dejected Jake Delhomme

The Carolina Panthers' road to the Super Bowl started after the 2001 season when they were the worst team in the NFL. They went 1-15 and had installed John Fox as their new head coach. They improved to a 7-9 record in 2002, but in the 2003 offseason, they acquired their quarterback in free agency Jake Delhomme. Delhomme went from undrafted to the Super Bowl by NFL Europe playing for Frankfurt in 1999. He started as a backup but won the job as starting QB in week 2 and threw for 3,219 yards 19 touchdowns but also threw 16 interceptions. His top targets were Steve Smith and Mushin Muhammad. While their passing game was OK their strength on offence was their running game with Stevan Davies and Deshaun Foster. Their defence was the central unit with Julius Peppers on the line along with a talented secondary who as unit 11 combined interceptions and 3 touchdowns. They finished 3rd in the NFC at 11-5.

The Patriots had a hangover year in 2002 missing the playoffs and then going into 2003 they lost one of their leaders because of contract issues. They were suddenly shut out 31-0 on the first game of the season to the Buffalo Bills. After going 2-2 in September, they then went on a winning streak all the way to the Super Bowl and earned the No.1 seed in the NFC with the leagues best record at 14-2. Brady had a new receiver corps in Deion Branch and David Givens who joined alongside Troy Brown. He also had two running backs who had combined 1300 yard seasons in Kevin Faulk and Antowain Smith. Their defence had valuable players like Willie McGinest, Mike Vrabel, Richard Seymour and newly acquired Rodney Harrison.

Foster diving for the Endzone

The Panther's playoff run was two road games first going to St Louis defeating them 29-23 in double overtime. They then went to the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC Championship game and defeated them 14-3. Meanwhile, the Patriots battled not just for a victory but freezing cold conditions against the Tennesse Titans beating them 17-14. They then faced the Peyton Manning-led Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship defeating them 24-14.

Delhomme and Smith celebrating a TD

Usually, the pre-game festivities are simple however because it was in Houston they made it all about NASA especially as the day it was played on was 1 year to the day when the Shuttle Columbia disaster happened. Also, before the game, there was nearly a fight between both teams. The first half was full of defensive plays as both defences held both sides scoreless until the 27th minute of the game. Even New England missed 2 field goals. After their second missed field goal the Patriots force fumbled  Delhomme, 4plays later Brady threw to Branch for the first touchdown. Delhomme matched them going 95 yards in less than 2 minutes to tie it thanks to a 39-yard touchdown to Steve Smith. The Patriots then scored another touchdown with 18 seconds to go in the half. They tried to squib kick (which means kicking it on the ground in an attempt to keep the ball in their hands however it backfired. That backfire cost the Patriots in a 50-yard field goal which made it 14-10 Patriots at halftime.

After a somewhat controversial halftime show involving Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson. The 3rd quarter was scoreless just like the first quarter. However, at the start of the 4th, the Patriots added another touchdown thanks Antowain Smith to make it 21-10. The Panthers then scored two unanswered touchdowns. The first came off a 6 play 81-yard touchdown finished off by Foster running in 3 yards. The second touchdown came off a 3 play 90-yard drive with Muhammad going 85 yards. That put the score at 22-21 Panthers. The Patriots made it 29-21 after Brady threw a touchdown pass to Vrabel with less than 3 minutes left on the clock.

Delhomme then orchestrated a 7 play 80-yard drive with Ricky Proehl running in a 12-yard pass. That tied the score at 29 each. Then Brady showed off his ability to orchestrate a winning drive getting into field goal range for Adam Vinatieri to win the game from 50 yards and ice the game at 32-29. That ended the first Houston Classic for the Patriots they would return 13 years later and do it all over again.

Brady was MVP in the game going 354 yards and 3 touchdowns on 32 completions for only 1 interception. His top target was Branch who had 143 yards and 1 touchdown from 10 catches. Smith was his top running back with 83 yards and 1 touchdown from 26 carries. Delhomme had 323 yards and 3 touchdowns from 16 completions. Muhammad was his top receiver going for 140 yards and 1 touchdown in 4 from 4 catches. 

Well, that's all folks my top 10 is complete all that's left is the Super Bowl in Atlanta, and I will be back with the review for that on Monday.

KRO Mark