Super Bowl XXXVI was an
American football game played on February 3, 2002 at the
Louisiana Superdome in
New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the
National Football League (NFL) champion following the
2001 regular season. The
American Football Conference (AFC) champion
New England Patriots (14–5) win their first
Super Bowl by defeating the
National Football Conference (NFC) champion
St. Louis Rams (16–3), 20–17, as kicker
Adam Vinatieri made a game-winning 48-yard field goal as time expired. The Rams had been 14-point favorites to win the game, making the Patriots' victory one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history.
Patriots Quarterback
Tom Brady, who completed 16 of 27 passes for 145 yards with a touchdown and marched his team down the field for the game winning score, was named
Super Bowl MVP.
Due to the
September 11 attacks and the NFL schedule being moved one week later, Super Bowl XXXVI was rescheduled from the original date of January 27 to February 3. On December 16, 2002, the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designated each subsequent Super Bowl a
National Special Security Event (NSSE). By 2004, the league had restored the traditional pre-Super Bowl
bye week that had been abolished prior to the
2001 NFL season, to reduce the possibility of the Super Bowl being unexpectedly delayed again.
Background
St. Louis Rams
After their Super Bowl winning 1999 season, the Rams offense again dominated the league, leading the NFL in passing, scoring, and total yards. However, they had one of the worst defenses in the league, ranking second to last in points allowed. This, along with injury problems and a coaching change (Super Bowl winning coach
Dick Vermeil left the team and was replaced by
Mike Martz), caused them to slip to a 10–6 record in 2000 and be eliminated in the wild card round of the playoffs.
However, after signing several new defensive players in the offseason, the Rams finished the 2001 season with the NFL's best regular season record at 14–2, and advanced to their second Super Bowl appearance in the last 3 seasons. In 2001, they led the league in both total offensive yards (6,930) and scoring (503). This was their third consecutive season with over 500 points, an NFL record. On defense, they only allowed 271 points, improving their 31st ranking from last season to 7th.
Their offense, nicknamed "The Greatest Show on Turf," is widely considered one of the best in NFL history. There seemed to be an endless amount of offensive talent at every position. Quarterback
Kurt Warner was awarded the
NFL Most Valuable Player Award after throwing for 4,830 yards and 36 touchdowns, with 22 interceptions, and earning a league high 101.4
passer rating. Wide receivers
Torry Holt and
Isaac Bruce each amassed over 1,100 receiving yards, combining for 142 receptions, 2,469 yards, and 13 touchdowns. Wide receiver
Ricky Proehl caught 40 passes for 563 yards and 5 touchdowns. Tight end
Ernie Conwell caught 38 passes for 431 yards and 4 touchdowns. Wide receiver
Az-Zahir Hakim caught 39 passes for 374 yards, and added another 333 yards returning punts.
Running back
Marshall Faulk won
NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award for the third year in a row. He rushed for 1,382 yards, caught 83 passes for 765 yards, scored 21 touchdowns, and became the first NFL player ever to gain more than 2,000 combined rushing and receiving yards for 4 consecutive seasons. Running back
Trung Canidate was also a major contributor, rushing for 441 yards, catching 17 passes for 154 yards, returning kickoffs for 748 yards, and scoring 6 touchdowns. Up front, their offensive line was led by guard
Adam Timmerman and offensive tackle
Orlando Pace, who was selected to the
Pro Bowl for the third year in a row.
The Rams also had a solid defense, ranking third in the league in fewest yards allowed (4,733). The line was anchored by Pro Bowl defensive end
Leonard Little, who led the team with 14.5 sacks and recovered a fumble, and defensive end
Grant Wistrom, who recorded 9 sacks, 2 interceptions, and 1 fumble recovery. Behind them, the Rams linebacking core was led by
London Fletcher, who had 4.5 sacks and 2 interceptions. St. Louis also had an outstanding secondary, led by
Dre' Bly (6 interceptions, 150 return yards, and 2 touchdowns), Pro Bowler
Aeneas Williams (4 interceptions, 69 return yards, 2 touchdowns), and
Dexter McCleon (4 interceptions, 66 yards).
New England Patriots
The Patriots' chances for a Super Bowl appearance seemed to be doomed barely after the season had begun. Before the season even started, quarterbacks coach
Dick Rehbein died of a heart attack. The Patriots, coached by
Bill Belichick lost their first two games. In the second loss, at home to the
New York Jets, starting quarterback
Drew Bledsoe suffered a sheared blood vessel on a hit by Jet
Mo Lewis that would cause him to miss several weeks. His replacement was second-year quarterback
Tom Brady, a sixth-round draft pick who had thrown only 3 passes in 2000. In addition to this, during the fourth game of the year, wide receiver
Terry Glenn, their leading receiver in 2000, was benched due to off the field problems.
Upon being designated the starting quarterback, Brady enjoyed immediate success in the regular season, leading New England to an 11-5 record. He completed 63.9 percent of his passes for 2,843 yards and 18 touchdowns with 12 interceptions and was selected to the
Pro Bowl. Veteran Pro Bowl wide receiver
Troy Brown was the main receiving threat, recording 101 receptions for 1,199 yards and 5 touchdowns, while also adding another 413 yards and 2 touchdowns returning punts. Wide receiver
David Patten also was productive, catching 51 passes for 749 yards and 4 touchdowns. Running back
Antowain Smith provided the team with a stable rushing game, rushing for 1,157 yards, catching 19 passes for 192 yards, and scoring 13 touchdowns.
New England was also excellent on defense as well. Up front, linemen
Bobby Hamilton (7 sacks, 1 fumble recovery), and rookie
Richard Seymour excelled at pressuring quarterbacks and stuffing the run. Behind them, the Patriots had 3 outstanding linebackers:
Mike Vrabel (2 interceptions, 3 sacks),
Willie McGinest (5 sacks), and
Tedy Bruschi (2 interceptions). The secondary also featured outstanding talent such as defensive back
Otis Smith, who led the team with 5 interceptions for 181 yards and 2 touchdowns. Cornerback
Ty Law intercepted 3 passes, returning them for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns. Safety
Lawyer Milloy had 2 interceptions during the season, and was selected along with Law to represent the New England defense in the Pro Bowl.
Prior to the Super Bowl the Patriots hosted the Rams in a nationally televised ESPN Sunday night regular-season game on November 18. Although the Patriots jumped out to an early lead, a critical turnover before the end of the first half that led to a Rams score proved costly. In the second half, the Rams wore New England down and won 24-17. The Rams would lose four of their defensive players with injuries. Indeed, the Patriots' physical play led Rams coach Mike Martz to say after the game that the Patriots were "a Super Bowl-caliber team." After the loss, the Patriots dropped to 5-5, but would not lose again the rest of the season. Coincidentlly, this was the third time straight that the New England Patriots went to the Super Bowl at Louisiana until they went to the Super Bowl two years later at Houston, Texas.
Playoffs
The Rams started out their postseason with a 45–17 win over the
Green Bay Packers in the divisional round. Expected to be a close shootout between Warner and Packers quarterback
Brett Favre, the Rams defense dominated the Packers by intercepting a playoff record 6 passes from Favre and returning 3 of them for touchdowns. The Rams offense also racked up 24 points on 2 touchdown passes by Warner, a touchdown run by Faulk, and a field goal by
Jeff Wilkins, helping St. Louis put the game away by the end of the third quarter.
One week later, the Rams advanced to the Super Bowl with a 29–24 win over the
Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC championship game. Philadelphia managed to build a 17–13 halftime lead, but St. Louis scored 16 consecutive second half points (2 touchdown runs by Faulk and a Wilkins field goal) to earn the win. Warner finished the game with 22 of 33 pass completions for 212 yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions, while Faulk rushed for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns.
In the AFC, the Patriots defeated the
Oakland Raiders 16–13 in a driving
New England snowstorm. The signature moment of the game was a controversial ruling by referee
Walt Coleman in the fourth quarter that would cause this game to commonly be known as the "tuck game". With the Patriots trailing the Raiders 13-10 with under two minutes left in regulation and out of time outs, Brady was sacked by defensive back
Charles Woodson, and appeared to fumble the ball, which was recovered by linebacker
Greg Biekert. After reviewing the play using
instant replay, Coleman reversed the call on the field pursuant to the "
tuck rule", where a ball is ruled an incomplete pass after the quarterback starts any forward motion. Brady then led his team to the Raiders 29-yard line, where kicker
Adam Vinatieri made a 45-yard field goal which barely cleared the crossbar to send the game into overtime. The Patriots won the toss in overtime and would win on another Vinatieri field goal from 23 yards, without Oakland regaining possession.
In the AFC title game, the Patriots traveled to
Heinz Field to face the
Pittsburgh Steelers, who were coming off a 27-10 win over the previous season's Super Bowl champion
Baltimore Ravens. New England scored first with a 55-yard punt return touchdown by Brown, but in the second quarter, Brady was knocked out of the game with a sprained ankle. He would be replaced by Drew Bledsoe in Bledsoe's first game action since being injured back in September. Upon entering the game, Bledsoe quickly moved the Patriots down the field and threw an 11-yard pass to Patten to give the Patriots a 14-3 halftime lead.
Early in the second half, the Steelers moved from their own 32 to the New England 16, where they lined up for a field goal by
Kris Brown. However, Brandon Mitchell blocked the kick, Troy Brown picked up the ball at the 40 and ran 11 yards before lateraling to Antwaan Harris, who took it 49 yards for the score that made it 21-3. Although Pittsburgh scored two third quarter touchdowns to come within 21-17, the Patriots ended the comeback attempt by scoring a field goal in the fourth quarter and intercepting 2 passes from Steelers quarterback
Kordell Stewart in the final 3 minutes of the game.
Effect of the September 11, 2001 attacks
Preparations for Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans were planned ever since the city was awarded the game during the NFL's
October 1998 meetings. However, the
September 11, 2001 attacks led the league to move both the playoffs and the Super Bowl one week back. Rescheduling the game from
January 27 to
February 3 proved extraordinarily difficult. In addition to rescheduling the game itself, all related events and activities had to be accommodated. This marked the first time in NFL history that the Super Bowl was played in the month of February; however, almost all subsequent Super Bowls (excluding
Super Bowl XXXVII) would be played in February afterwards.
Historically, the NFL made allowance for an open weekend between the
Conference Championship games and the
Super Bowl. However, there wasn't one scheduled for 2001, due to the NFL's decision beginning in the 1999 season to move the opening week of games to the weekend after
Labor Day. Because the date of the Super Bowl had been set through 2003, the bye week before the Super Bowl would not return until 2004.
The NFL and New Orleans officials worked diligently to put together a deal to reschedule the game. The league considered a number of options, including shortening the regular season, shortening the playoffs, condensing the three playoff rounds in two weeks, and moving the game to the
Rose Bowl in
Pasadena, California. The decision was eventually made to make every effort to maintain a full regular season and playoff, and push the Super Bowl back to February 3.
One of the most significant logistical challenges was accommodating the
National Automobile Dealers Association Convention, which was originally slated to occupy the Superdome on February 3. On
October 3, 2001, the NFL announced their intentions to hold the game on February 3, even though no agreement was in hand with NADA. Several weeks later, the three parties reached an agreement, where the NADA would move their convention's date to the original Super Bowl week in exchange for financial and other considerations, including promotional spots shown during selected regular season NFL games. This agreement allowed the NFL to move the game back to February 3, and would also accommodate a full and uncondensed playoff tournament.
Initially, the original logo for Super Bowl XXXVI was to have a style that reflected the host city. The original logo was distributed on some memorabilia items during 2001. However, after the 9/11 attacks, a new logo reflecting American pride was designed, featuring the shape of the 48 contiguous states (see the top of this article).
Venue
This was the last Super Bowl played on
AstroTurf, as NFL stadiums were starting to phase out that specific type of turf in favor of natural
grass or other surfaces that more closely simulate grass, such as
FieldTurf.
Prior to Super Bowl XXXVI, Superdome officials considered bringing in natural grass for the game. The system would use large trays of grass grown and cultivated outdoors that would be brought inside to be placed on the field of play. A similar system had been used in the past at the
Silverdome during the
1994 World Cup, and was also briefly used at
Giants Stadium. However, cost and quality concerns prompted stadium and league officials to abandon the project.
Television and entertainment
The game was broadcast in the
United States by
Fox television, with the broadcast team of
play-by-play announcer Pat Summerall and
color commentator John Madden.
Pam Oliver and
Ron Pitts served as sideline reporters. This was Summerall's 26th and (to date) final Super Bowl broadcast on television or radio, and his final telecast with Madden; the two had been paired since
1981 (dating back to their days at
CBS).
James Brown hosted all the events with help from his then-fellow
Fox NFL Sunday cast members
Terry Bradshaw,
Howie Long and
Cris Collinsworth.
Jillian Barberie served as the weather and entertainment reporter during the pre-game show.
The overall theme of the Super Bowl entertainment was a celebration of the freedom and spirit of America. The confetti was red, white, and blue. That color scheme would go on to be used for every Super Bowl from that point on.
Pregame ceremonies
Before the game, an ensemble of singers
Barry Manilow,
Yolanda Adams,
James Ingram,
Wynonna and
Patti LaBelle performed Manilow's song "Let Freedom Ring."
In a video segment, past and present NFL players read excerpts from the
Declaration of Independence. Former U.S. presidents
Gerald Ford,
Jimmy Carter,
George H. W. Bush, and
Bill Clinton appeared in another videotaped segment and recited some of the speeches by
Abraham Lincoln. Because
Ronald Reagan had
Alzheimer's disease, his wife
Nancy appeared on the segment instead.
Singers
Mary J. Blige and
Marc Anthony, along with the
Boston Pops Orchestra, performed "
America the Beautiful".
Paul McCartney then sang his post-9/11 song "
Freedom". Afterwards, singer
Mariah Carey, accompanied by the
Boston Pops Orchestra, performed
the national anthem.
George H. W. Bush became the first president, past or present, to participate in a Super Bowl
coin toss in person (Ronald Reagan participated in the
Super Bowl XIX coin toss via satellite from the
White House in 1985). Bush was joined by
hall of fame and former
Dallas Cowboys quarterback
Roger Staubach, who played at the
United States Naval Academy and was the
Most Valuable Player of
Super Bowl VI, played 30 years prior at New Orleans'
Tulane Stadium.
Patriots entrance into the Superdome
As was customary at the time, the Rams' offensive starters were introduced first, as the Rams were considered the visitors. However, the Patriots chose "to be introduced as a team," to quote Summerall, who handled the
public address announcements during some of the pregame. According to
David Halberstam's book,
The Education of a Coach, Belichick was given a choice by the NFL to introduce either the offense or defense. Belichick chose neither, asking that the team be introduced all at once, in the spirit of unity. Although this was initially rejected by the NFL, Belichick held his ground and the NFL honored his request. Since then, both Super Bowl combatants would each be introduced as a team.
Halftime show

Names of 9/11 victims scroll during U2's performance
The halftime show featured a three-song set from Irish rockers
U2, who had just completed their successful
Elevation Tour. After renditions of "
Beautiful Day" and "
MLK", the band launched into "
Where the Streets Have No Name," featuring two backdrops with the names of victims of the 9/11 attacks floating into the sky behind the band and
Bono opening his jacket to reveal an
American flag printed into the lining. While singing "Where the Streets Have No Name," Bono replaced the lyrics 'take shelter from the poison rain' to 'dance in the Louisiana rain'. In 2009,
SI.com ranked it as the best halftime show in Super Bowl history.
Game summary
The Rams scored first midway through the first quarter, driving 48 yards in 10 plays to set up a 50-yard field goal by kicker
Jeff Wilkins. At the time, the field goal was the third longest in Super Bowl history. The rest of the quarter was scoreless.
Early in the second quarter, the Rams drove to New England's 34-yard line, but quarterback
Kurt Warner threw an incompletion on third down, and Wilkins' subsequent 52-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.
With 8:49 left in the second quarter, New England defensive back
Ty Law intercepted a pass intended for receiver
Dane Looker and scored on a 47-yard return to give the Patriots a 7-3 lead. With less than two minutes left in the first half, Warner completed a pass to receiver
Ricky Proehl at the Patriots 40-yard line, but New England defensive back
Antwan Harris forced a fumble while tackling him, which was recovered by Patriots defensive back
Terrell Buckley. New England quarterback
Tom Brady would lead a drive that culminated with an 8-yard touchdown pass to receiver
David Patten with 31 seconds left in the half to give New England a 14–3 halftime lead. This was the first time in the 2001 season that St. Louis fell behind in a game by more than eight points.
The Patriots took the opening kickoff of the second half, but could only reach the St. Louis 43-yard line before being forced to punt. Aided by a 20-yard reception by wide receiver
Az-Zahir Hakim, a 22-yard reception by Bruce, and a defensive pass interference penalty on Patriots defensive back Otis Smith, the Rams advanced to the New England 41-yard line. However, on the next play, linebacker
Mike Vrabel and defensive lineman
Richard Seymour sacked Warner for a 9-yard loss. Warner then threw 2 consecutive incomplete passes, which resulted in the Rams punting.
Later in the third quarter,
Otis Smith intercepted a pass intended for Rams wide receiver
Torry Holt after Holt slipped while coming off the line of scrimmage, and returned the ball 30 yards to the Rams 33-yard line. Though St. Louis' defense did not give up a touchdown to the Patriots, kicker
Adam Vinateri made a 37-yard field goal to increase New England's lead to 17–3.
The Rams responded by driving to the Patriots' 3-yard line on their ensuing drive. On fourth-and-goal, the Rams attempted to score a touchdown, calling for a quarterback sneak by Warner. Warner fumbled the ball while being tackled by linebacker
Roman Phifer, which was recovered by defensive back
Tebucky Jones who returned it 97 yards for a touchdown that would have increased the Patriots lead to 23-3. However, the play was nullified by a holding penalty on linebacker
Willie McGinest, who illegally hugged Rams running back
Marshall Faulk and prevented him from becoming an eligible receiver, which in turn gave the Rams a first down on the 1-yard line instead. On second down, Warner scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to make the score 17–10, Patriots.
After Warner's touchdown, the Rams defense forced the Patriots to a
three-and-out. St. Louis then drove from their own 7-yard line to the New England 36-yard line, aided by a 30-yard reception by Proehl. However, McGinest sacked Warner for a 16-yard loss on second down, pushing the Rams back to their 46-yard line. St. Louis ended up punting after Warner's third down pass was incomplete.
The Rams forced New England to another three-and-out, and got the ball back on their own 45-yard line with 1:51 left in the game. Warner threw three consecutive completions: an 18-yard pass to Hakim, an 11-yard one to receiver
Yo Murphy, and finally a 26-yard touchdown completion to Proehl that tied the game 17–17 with 1:30 left in the fourth quarter.
The Patriots had no timeouts left for their ensuing drive, which resulted in
color commentator John Madden initially suggesting that the Patriots should run out the clock and attempt to win in overtime. Instead, New England attempted to get the winning score in regulation on the final drive. Brady opened the drive with three completions to running back
J.R. Redmond, which moved the ball to their 41-yard line with 33 seconds left. After an incomplete pass, Brady completed a 23-yard pass to wide receiver
Troy Brown, and followed it up with a 6-yard completion to tight end
Jermaine Wiggins to advance to the Rams' 30-yard line. Brady then spiked the ball with seven seconds left, which set up Vinatieri's 48-yard field goal attempt. Vinatieri's game-winning kick was successful, marking the only time in Super Bowl history that a game was won by a score on the final play.
Scoring summary
1st Quarter
- STL - FG: Jeff Wilkins 50 yards 3–0 STL 3:10. Drive: 10 plays,48 yards in 5:05
2nd Quarter
- NE - TD: Ty Law 47 yard interception return (Adam Vinatieri kick) 7–3 NE 8:49
- NE - TD: David Patten 8 yard pass from Tom Brady (Adam Vinatieri kick) 14–3 NE 0:31. Drive: 5 plays, 40 yards in 0:49
3rd Quarter
- NE - FG: Adam Vinatieri 37 yards 17–3 NE 1:18. Drive: 5 plays, 14 yards in 2:07
4th Quarter
- STL - TD: Kurt Warner 2 yard run (Jeff Wilkins kick) 17–10 NE 9:31. Drive:12 plays, 77 yards in 6:47
- STL - TD: Ricky Proehl 26 yard pass from Kurt Warner (Jeff Wilkins kick) 17–17 tie 1:30 Drive: 3 plays, 55 yards in 0:21
- NE - FG: Adam Vinatieri 48 yards 20–17 NE 0:00 Drive: 9 plays, 53 yards in 1:30
Final statistics
Overview
Warner finished the game with 28 completions out of 44 passes for 365 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions, and rushed 3 times for 6 yards and a touchdown. Warner's 365 passing yards were the second highest total in Super Bowl history behind his own record of 414 yards set in
Super Bowl XXXIV. Hakim was the top receiver of the game with 5 catches for 90 yards, and also rushed once for 5 yards. Faulk led the team with 76 rushing yards, and also caught 4 passes for 54 yards.
Patriots running back
Antowain Smith was the top rusher of the game with 92 yards, and caught a pass for 4 yards.
Troy Brown was the Patriots leading receiver with 6 catches for 89 yards, a 15-yard kickoff return, and a 4-yard punt return, giving him 108 total yards.
Although the Rams outgained the Patriots 427–267 in total yards, New England forced three turnovers and converted them into 17 points. The Patriots committed no turnovers.
Trivia
- Kurt Warner's 365 passing yards were the second highest total in Super Bowl history behind his own record of 414 yards set in Super Bowl XXXIV.
- This Super Bowl was the first since Super Bowl XXX not to have a rookie score in the game. Adam Vinatieri (Super Bowl XXXI), Ryan Longwell (Super Bowl XXXII), Tim Dwight (Super Bowl XXXIII), Torry Holt (Super Bowl XXXIV) and Jamal Lewis (Super Bowl XXXV) had scored in the previous five Super Bowls.
- This was the New England Patriots' third straight Super Bowl played at the Louisiana Superdome and second straight Super Bowl as a 14 point underdog.
- This game was the last Super Bowl played on antiquated AstroTurf. About a year before the game was held, stadium officials considered bringing in natural grass for the game. The system would use large trays of grass grown and cultivated outdoors, and brought inside to be placed on the field of play. Cost concerns, and the fact that it had never been done before, prompted stadium and league officials to abandon the project. During the 2003 season, the Superdome replaced its AstroTurf surface with AstroPlay, a surface that more closely simulates natural grass. The last two teams to play their home games on AstroTurf, the Rams and the Indianapolis Colts, switched to FieldTurf in 2005.
- This is the only Super Bowl to date to be decided on the last play of the game.
- Although the Rams led the league during the regular season in red zone possessions, they did not enter the red zone until early in the fourth quarter, in a drive that ended with Warner's 2-yard touchdown run. This drive ended up being the only time in the game that the Rams ran any plays from scrimmage in the red zone.
- The Patriots became the 8th team to win the Super Bowl over a team with a better record going into the game (13-5 for the Patriots to 16-2 for the Rams).
- Tom Brady had the third lowest passing yards total for a Super Bowl MVP quarterback with his 145. Roger Staubach has the lowest total with 119 yards in the Cowboys Super Bowl VI win. Brady's was the first such award to be partially awarded through fan voting. The following year's Lindy's Pro Football Annual reported that had fan voting not been factored in that Ty Law would have won the award.
- Ever since the Patriots' now-famous "team introduction" in Super Bowl XXXVI, the NFL decided to forgo individual player introductions for the Super Bowl ; every subsequent Super Bowl (except XXXVII) has had "team introductions" on both sides.
- The Patriots' win snapped an eight game Super Bowl losing streak for the AFC East. The Miami Dolphins in VIII had been the last team in this division to win the Super Bowl.
Officials
Statistical comparison
Individual leaders
*Completions/AttemptsaCarriesbLong playcReceptionsStarting lineups
Officials
Game time and weather conditions
Notes and references
- (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
- http://www.pro-football-reference.com - Large online database of NFL data and statistics
- from USA Today (Last accessed September 28, 2005)
- from The Sports Network (Last accessed October 16, 2005)
See also
Category:2002 in American footballSuper Bowl 036Category:New England PatriotsCategory:St. Louis Rams postseasonSuper Bowl 36Category:2001 National Football League seasonda:Super Bowl XXXVIfr:Super Bowl XXXVIit:Super Bowl XXXVIhu:Super Bowl XXXVIpl:Super Bowl XXXVIsimple:Super Bowl XXXVI