The New England Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVIII. It happened on February 1, 2004, at Reliant Stadium in Houston, and honestly, if you only remember the halftime show, you’re missing out on what many NFL historians consider one of the best games ever played. It wasn't just a win; it was the birth of a dynasty.
Adam Vinatieri kicked a 41-yard field goal with four seconds left. Again.
The final score was 32-29 against the Carolina Panthers. It was wild. For the first 26 minutes of the game, nobody scored a single point. It looked like it was going to be a defensive slog that would bore the entire world to tears. Then, the floodgates didn't just open—they exploded. The two teams combined for 868 yards of total offense.
The Chaos of the Fourth Quarter
If you want to know who won Super Bowl 2004, you have to look at the fourth quarter specifically. It was pure insanity. There were 37 points scored in the final frame alone. That’s an NFL record for a single quarter in a Super Bowl.
New England entered the fourth quarter leading 14-10. Then, the lead changed hands or the game was tied five different times. It was exhausting to watch.
Jake Delhomme, who was essentially a Ragin' Cajun underdog story, threw an 85-yard touchdown pass to Muhsin Muhammad. That remains the longest play from scrimmage in Super Bowl history. People forget how good Delhomme was that night. He went toe-to-toe with Tom Brady, finishing with 323 passing yards and three touchdowns. He played a nearly perfect game, and he still lost. That's the Brady effect.
Brady was 26 years old. He wasn't the "G.O.A.T." yet; he was just a kid who knew how to win. He finished 32-of-48 for 354 yards. He took the MVP trophy, and honestly, he deserved it for that final drive alone.
The Panthers tied the game at 29-29 with 1:08 left on the clock. Most teams would be playing for overtime. Not the 2003-2004 Patriots. But they got a massive gift. John Kasay, the Panthers' kicker who had been incredibly reliable all year, kicked the kickoff out of bounds.
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Mistake. Huge.
That penalty gave the Patriots the ball at their own 40-yard line. Brady only needed about 30 yards to get into Vinatieri's range. He got them.
Beyond the Halftime Controversy
We have to talk about the elephant in the room. When people ask about 2004, they usually think of Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, and the "wardrobe malfunction." It changed television forever. It’s why we have a five-second delay on "live" broadcasts now.
But the game itself was better than the drama.
Think about the rosters. The Patriots had Richard Seymour, Tedy Bruschi, Willie McGinest, and Ty Law. That defense was mean. They were the "No Name" defense's spiritual successors, coached by a Bill Belichick who was just starting to solidify his reputation as a tactical genius.
On the other side, the Panthers were the "Cardiac Cats." They won seven games during the regular season by three points or less. They were comfortable in the chaos. They had Steve Smith Sr. in his prime—a guy who played with more "dawg" than almost anyone in league history. Watching Smith and Law battle on the outside was a masterclass in physical wide receiver vs. cornerback play.
Why the 2004 Patriots Were Different
This wasn't like the 2001 win over the Rams. In 2001, the Patriots were lucky. They were heavy underdogs. In 2004, they were the juggernaut. They came into the Super Bowl on a 14-game winning streak.
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They weren't flashy.
They didn't have a 1,000-yard rusher. Antowain Smith was their leading back with 642 yards. Their leading receiver was Deion Branch, who would go on to be the MVP the following year. It was a team built on situational football. Belichick didn't care about stats; he cared about the 3rd-and-4 conversion.
The Panthers' defensive line was terrifying, though. Kris Jenkins and Julius Peppers were wrecking balls. They sacked Brady multiple times and hit him constantly. Most quarterbacks would have folded. Brady just kept checking down to Kevin Faulk.
Faulk was the unsung hero of that game. He had 42 rushing yards and 19 receiving yards, but his contributions on third downs kept the chains moving when the deep ball wasn't there.
The Scoring Breakdown
- Second Quarter: Deion Branch 5-yard TD pass from Brady (NE 7-0)
- Second Quarter: Steve Smith 39-yard TD pass from Delhomme (7-7)
- Second Quarter: David Givens 5-yard TD pass from Brady (NE 14-7)
- Second Quarter: John Kasay 50-yard Field Goal (NE 14-10)
- Fourth Quarter: Antowain Smith 2-yard TD run (NE 21-10)
- Fourth Quarter: DeShaun Foster 33-yard TD run (NE 21-16 - 2pt failed)
- Fourth Quarter: Muhsin Muhammad 85-yard TD pass from Delhomme (CAR 22-21 - 2pt failed)
- Fourth Quarter: Mike Vrabel 1-yard TD pass from Brady (NE 29-22 - 2pt good)
- Fourth Quarter: Ricky Proehl 12-yard TD pass from Delhomme (29-29)
- Fourth Quarter: Adam Vinatieri 41-yard Field Goal (NE 32-29)
Yes, Mike Vrabel, the linebacker, caught a touchdown. That was a classic Belichick move. Using a defensive star as a goal-line tight end was the kind of thing that drove opposing coaches crazy.
The Legacy of Super Bowl XXXVIII
So, who won Super Bowl 2004? The New England Patriots, but the victory did more than just add a trophy to the case. It validated the "Patriot Way."
It proved that the 2001 win wasn't a fluke. It established the AFC's dominance for the next decade. It also left the Panthers with a "what if" that still haunts the franchise. If Kasay keeps that ball in bounds, do the Panthers win in overtime? Maybe.
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The game is often cited by analytics experts as a turning point in how we view aggression. Both teams went for two-point conversions when the math suggested they should. Both teams took deep shots late in the game. It was a modern game played with old-school toughness.
If you go back and watch the tape, look at the jersey tugging. Look at how much contact was allowed downfield. It was a different era of football, right on the cusp of the rule changes that would make the league much more pass-happy.
New England finished that season 17-2 including the playoffs. They were a machine.
Key Lessons from the 2004 Patriots Win
- Special teams are never "extra." The out-of-bounds kickoff essentially ended the Panthers' season. You can play 59 minutes of perfect football and lose on one technical error.
- Roster depth over superstars. The Patriots didn't have a Hall of Fame wideout. They had a collection of guys who caught the ball when it hit their hands.
- The "Clutch" factor is real. Vinatieri had already missed a 31-yarder and had another blocked earlier in the game. Most kickers would have been in their own heads. He stepped up and drilled the winner anyway.
If you’re researching this for a trivia night or just to settle a debate with a friend, remember that the 2003 season (which culminated in this 2004 game) was the year the Patriots became the "Evil Empire" in the eyes of everyone outside of Massachusetts. They were too disciplined, too prepared, and they had a kicker who simply didn't miss when the lights were brightest.
To truly understand this era, you should look into the "Ty Law Rule" that followed shortly after. The Colts were so frustrated by how Law and the Patriots defense manhandled their receivers in the AFC Championship game that year that the league office eventually cracked down on illegal contact.
The 2004 Super Bowl was the peak of that physical, bruising style of championship football.
Next Steps for the Interested Fan:
Check out the "NFL America's Game" documentary on the 2003 Patriots. It features interviews with Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and Rodney Harrison that explain the defensive schemes used to contain the Panthers' explosive run game. If you want to see the stats in a broader context, compare the 2003 Patriots' defensive metrics to the 1985 Bears or the 2000 Ravens; you'll find they were statistically more efficient in "red zone" situations than almost any other championship team in history. Finally, look up the game highlights specifically for the fourth-quarter sequence—it is a masterclass in clock management and high-pressure execution.