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PART FIVE - FIRST HALF |
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Coin toss. A few Texas born Hall of Famers were out there to help conduct it, including 77 year old Y.A.Title who flipped the coin. Panthers win the toss and elect to receive! |
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Finally after all the pre-game we are underway as Adam Vinatieri kicks off! |
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The Panthers come out running on their 1st two plays. Stephen Davis gains 2 and 5 yards. A 3rd down pass falls incomplete however and they have to punt. Troy Brown returns the punt 28 yards and the Pats have great field position at the Panthers 47 yard line. |
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The Patriots come out throwing. As he will all day, Tom Brady has plenty of time to survey the field and find his receivers. Completions of 18 yards to Deion Branch, and 12 yards to Troy Brown have them in FG range, but Adam Vinatieri is wide right on his 31 yard FG attempt! |
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Panthers start to go backwards. Delhomme is sacked by Mike Vrabel and its 3 and out again ... |
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Teams trade punts again however. Then Pats move out of FG position when Panthers LB Will Witherspoon wraps up Troy Brown for a 10 yard loss on 3rd and 3 from the Carolina 31 yard line. Punt time again! |
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The Panthers did manage a 1st down on their next drive as Ty Law was called for defensive holding (there was a collective gasp around the stadium) but that drive quickly stalled too. END OF 1st QUARTER: PATS 0 CATS 0 The Panthers D once again held firm stopping Pats RB Antowain Smith on 3rd and 1 as the 2nd Q began. However Delhomme was sacked again, this time by Willie McGinest and the Panthers punted for the 5th straight time. |
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The Panthers D incredibly held again on 3rd and 1 stuffing a Brady sneak - but Belichick gambled on 4th down sending Antowain Smith over right guard. It looked like the Panthers might have stopped Smith again but a generous spot gave the Pats a 1st down! (A Panthers challenge failed to overturn the play) |
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This break appeared to open things up for the Pats, as Smith started to find some running room in the Panthers D gaining 9 yards to the 20 yard line. But 2 Brady incompletions forced a 36 yard Vinatieri FG attempt ... |
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Which was blocked! Cats DL Shane Burton got a paw on the ball and amazingly the game was still scoreless! Far from being dull, the tension was mounting inside the stadium as to who would break the deadlock! |
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The 1st turnover of the game 3 plays later would appear to answer that. Pats LB Mike Vrabel came free on Delhomme's blind side and knocked the ball out for team mate Richard Seymour to recover. At this point with less than 5 mins left in the 1st half the Panthers had a grand total of ZERO yards offense (thanks to the negative yards on the sacks). |
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The Pats would not let them opportunity slip by. Brady's key 12 yard run to the 5 yard line on 3rd and 7 gave the Pats 1st and goal. From there he executed a perfect play action pass and found WR Deion Branch free in the end zone for the 1st TD of the game. (In fact the 1st score - it had been the longest scoreless SB in history up that point). PATS 7 CATS 0 |
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A bonehead personal foul on Cats LB Lester Towns on the kickoff pinned Carolina at their 5 yard line and they quickly faced 3rd and 5 with 2:03 to play. Delhomme at this point was 1 of 9 for 1 yard, and was evoking memories of Tony Eason's SB XX struggle. Giving the ball up here, would have been catastrophic. However Delhomme's 3rd down pass was spectacularly juggled and then pulled in by WR Ricky Proehl as he gets clobbered by 2 Pats defenders. Suddenly the Cats come to life! |
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Delhomme hits WR Mushin Muhammed for 23 yards, Proehl for 15 and then on 3rd and 10 lofts a perfect pass into the outstretched arms of WR Steve Smith for a 39 yard TD. Game on! PATS 7 CATS 7 (Just for the record this site would like to remind you it was Smith who rearranged the face of Claymores WR Anthony Bright a couple of years back) |
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7-7 at HT? No chance! Brady rolls out on 2nd and 10 and launches a 52 yard bomb to Branch to get the Pats rolling again. Then on 3rd and 1 from the Cats 5, it's play action again, and this time WR David Givens is alone (Ricky Manning hopelessly burned again) and the Pats have scored again with 12 seconds left. PATS 14 CATS 7 |
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14-7 at HT? Not quite! Cats TE Kris Mangum makes a terrific play on the squib kick, plucking it out the air and rumbles to the Pats 47 yard line. From there the Cats sucker Belichick's D, running Stephen Davis for 21 yards (his only notable gain of the day). Then as time runs out in the 1st half K John Kasay nails a 50 yard FG. What a half! PATS 14 CATS 10 |
