Sunday, February 06, 2005

With MVP Deion Branch tying a Super Bowl record for receptions with 11, Brady efficiently running the offense and Rodney Harrison sparking a smothering defense, the Patriots won their ninth successive postseason game. That ties the record of Vince Lombardi's Packers of the 1960s, and there's hardly any better company a team can keep.

The difference once again was an Adam Vinatieri field goal, this one a 22-yarder with 8:40 to go. New England won its other two Super Bowls by the margin of Vinatieri's kicks.