Over the course of the week leading up to Super Bowl LIII between the Patriots and Rams, providencejournal.com will each day highlight New England's eight Super Bowl appearances in the Brady-Belichick era. Coming Wednesday: The Patriots lose Super Bowl XLII.
Story published: February 7, 2005
Headline: PATRIOTS 24, EAGLES 21 - Three's the charm - Winning the championship inspires talk of [...]
Over the course of the week leading up to Super Bowl LIII between the Patriots and Rams, providencejournal.com will each day highlight New England's eight Super Bowl appearances in the Brady-Belichick era. Coming Wednesday: The Patriots lose Super Bowl XLII.
Story published: February 7, 2005
Headline: PATRIOTS 24, EAGLES 21 - Three's the charm - Winning the championship inspires talk of dynasty
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The three stood on the field with just seconds left in the game: the head coach and his two coordinators, sharing their last hurrah together.
As Super Bowl XXXIX wound down at Alltel Stadium last night, Bill Belichick, Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel embraced before being whisked off into the madness of the victory celebration. Their hug lasted for several seconds; Belichick touched the other two on the head as they shared words which only they will ever know.
This morning, Weis, the Patriots offensive coordinator, is officially no longer an employee of the New England Patriots. He is the head coach at the University of Notre Dame, probably the toughest college football program in the country.
Crennel, if things go as expected, by the end of this week will no longer be the Patriots defensive coordinator but instead will be the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns.
"It was very bittersweet with Bill and Romeo and bittersweet with [Patriots quarterback] Tommy [Brady]," Weis said after last night's triumph.
Over the past five years, Belichick, Crennel and Weis have built New England into the team that is the envy of 31 other clubs in the NFL.
The 24-21 Patriots' win over the Philadelphia Eagles was their third Super Bowl title in the last four years. Only the Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s have accomplished such a feat.
"This truly belongs to these players," Belichick said after raising his postseason coaching mark to 10-1, one victory better than the mark set by Vince Lombardi, who coached the Green Bay Packers to five NFL titles in the 1960s. "They've met all comers this year and played their best in the big games."
The Patriots' owner, Robert K. Kraft, said, "I'm proud we were able to win this Super Bowl stressing team, not individuals."
Patriots receiver Deion Branch was named the game's most valuable player. His 11 catches tied a Super Bowl record, and his receptions totaled 133 yards.
Perhaps the most amazing thing about the run of championships is how New England accomplished it: by rarely doing the same thing twice and always adapting to whatever game plan the opponent might come up with.
Those techniques were on full display again last night.
New England struggled offensively in the first quarter, getting only one first down while drawing a couple of penalties. But by the second quarter, Weis and Belichick had seen enough to change their plan of attack and started marching down the field.
Were it not for a fumble by Brady just four yards from the end zone, when it appeared the ball was knocked loose by his own running back, the Pats likely would have gotten their first touchdown then.
Instead, Crennel's defense pushed Philadelphia back a yard on the Eagles' ensuing possession. Weis' offense then got its first score on a 37-yard drive.
"Philadelphia shows a lot of different things. They're a game-plan team, so we didn't know what to expect," Branch said. "We started out real bad in the first quarter, just bad. But we adjusted to the scheme, and Coach Belichick did a great job with the game plan for the second half."
A physical team, the Patriots went blow-for-blow with the equally physical Eagles. They got four sacks on quarterback Donovan McNabb, and picked off the Pro Bowler three times -- a major feat considering McNabb was intercepted only eight times during the 16-game regular season.
That defensive achievement also came without the services of safety Eugene Wilson, who was injured late in the first half and did not play again. Rookie Dexter Reid played in Wilson's stead.
Injuries in the secondary are nothing new for New England this season, and the fact the Patriots seemingly didn't skip a beat in spite of them is a credit to their system and personnel, Crennel said.
"It's a credit to the personnel department with the kind of players they get in and it's a credit to the players because they study in the meeting room and they work on the field," he said. For the first time, the Super Bowl was tied entering the fourth quarter. The Patriots broke the 14-14 tie on a 2-yard touchdown plunge by Corey Dillon, an off-season pickup from the Cincinnati Bengals. They pulled away when Adam Vinatieri made a 22-yard field goal with 8 minutes 40 seconds left for a 24-14 lead.
The Eagles struck back when McNabb uncorked a 31-yard touchdown pass to receiver Greg Lewis, cutting New England's lead to three points with 1:48 left. But the onside kick by David Akers bounced to Patriots tight end Christian Fauria, and a final Philadelphia comeback fell short when McNabb threw his third interception of the game.
McNabb was 30 of 51 passing for 357 yards and three touchdowns.
Brady completed 23 of 33 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.
"We have never really self-proclaimed us as anything," Brady said when asked if New England qualified as a dynasty. "We have a great coach, we have a great owner, and we try to express to everybody what this team is all about. I know it's cliché, but we are a team. In four years I've never had a receiver say he doesn't get enough balls or a running back say he never gets enough carries."
With Journal wire reports.