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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- New England's third Super Bowl victory
in four years came down to the most basic of football rules: The
Patriots ran the ball and made sure the Eagles couldn't. So New England won 24-21, established itself as the team of the
century (early though it is) and put Bill Belichick ahead of even
the great Vince Lombardi with a 10-1 postseason record. Lombardi would have loved it. Like his Packers of the 1960s, this is such a complete team that
nobody really knew who the MVP of the game was. It turned out to be
Deion Branch, who had 11 receptions for 133 yards. But it could
have been Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison or Richard Seymour, who all
made big defensive plays Sunday; or quarterback Tom Brady, who took
home the award when the Patriots won in 2002 and 2004. "Different plays, different guys," guard Joe Andruzzi said,
expressing just what has happened for the Patriots in the last four
years and especially the last two, when they are 34-4, an almost
unthinkable record in the parity of free agency and the salary cap. Lombardi certainly would have loved the 66-yard drive late in
the third quarter and early in the fourth that broke a 14-all tie.
Of those yards, 34 came on the ground -- including the final 2, by
Corey Dillon. The Patriots also got 20 yards rushing on that drive from
Dillon's backup, Kevin Faulk, who ran for 8 and 12 yards from a
spread formation. Faulk also took a screen pass from the 16 to the
2 to set up Dillon's TD. "Every time I come in, they yell 'screen! screen" Faulk said.
"So we ran the draw and it worked and then we ran the screen." What made the drive even more important was that it answered a
Philadelphia touchdown that had tied the game and seemed to give
the Eagles the momentum. The game also demonstrated the other characteristic that has
made the Patriots into what passes for a dynasty: big plays from
all kinds of players. As usual, one was Bruschi, setting the tone for the game with a
sack on Philadelphia's first possession. Then he made an
interception that ended a fourth-quarter drive one play after a
36-yard pass completion to Terrell Owens, who performed better than
expected in his first game back after a severe ankle injury. Harrison had two interceptions, one on his own 3-yard-line that
stopped a Philadelphia drive in the first quarter and the second
with 9 seconds left that ended Philadelphia's last desperation
drive. He also finished the second half as the only starter left in
the New England secondary -- both cornerbacks were lost midway
through the season and Eugene Wilson missed the second half with an
arm injury. But the defense was more than big plays: It was stuffing the
run. Aside from a meaningless 22-yard scamper by Brian Westbrook on
the final play of the first half, Philadelphia couldn't run against
a defense that often had just two down linemen. But the outside
linebackers -- Willie McGinest, Mike Vrabel and Rosevelt Colvin --
often played defensive end, making the Patriots' 3-4 defense into a
4-3 that Philadelphia didn't seem prepared to attack. Seymour, who had missed five weeks with a knee injury, didn't
play as much as he usually does. But when he did, he looked like he
hadn't missed a beat. Coach Bill Belichick said that was designed to put pressure on
Donovan McNabb. "I don't think we played 3-4 once all day," he
said. But it also worked in shutting down the run. "They used the linebackers to jam the guards and we never got
any good running lanes," said Westbrook, who carried 15 times for
44 yards. For the game, the Patriots outrushed Eagles 112-45. The Eagles had that to lament and plenty else, including their
four turnovers and the early chances they missed. But they also
recognized they were in the presence of a team unlike any other in
the NFL. "I'm proud of my team," Eagles tight end L.J. Smith said. "We
have a great coaching staff and a great organization. They won
today but we're still a great team." Which makes the Patriots even greater. A team for history.
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