Super Bowl XXXIX

The New England Patriots defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21 in Super Bowl XXXIX. The victory allowed the Patriots to become the seventh NFL franchise to win consecutive Super Bowl championships. They also joined the Dallas Cowboys as the only team to win three Super Bowls in a four year span. The victory gave head coach Bill Belichick three career wins in the game, tying him for second all-time with Joe Gibbs and Bill Walsh, trailing only Chuck Noll's 4 wins. The game was the first ever held in the city of Jacksonville, the third city in the state of Florida to host a Super Bowl, joining Miami and Tampa. New England wide receiver Deion Branch tied Jerry Rice's Super Bowl record with 11 receptions, and he also gained 133 receiving yards. Branch was named the Most Valuable Player of the game.

After a 24-year absence, the Eagles returned to the Super Bowl. The addition of all-pro wide receiver Terrell Owens helped the Eagles start the season red-hot. However, his ankle injury threatened to derail Philadelphia, which had lost the previous 3 NFC Championship Games at home. But the Eagles, led by quarterback Donovan McNabb, defeated both Minnesota and Atlanta to reach the Super Bowl. Owens returned for the big game, and he led the team with 9 catches for 122 yards in the loss.

The other focal point for the game revolved around the halftime show. Because of the wardrobe malfunction by Janet Jackson during the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, the NFL tried to ensure a much less controversial show in this game by having Beatles legend Paul McCartney perform.

• FIRST QUARTER

• No Scoring

• SECOND QUARTER

• PHI - L.J. Smith 6-yard PASS from Donovan McNabb (David Akers kick)

• NE - David Givens 4-yard PASS from Tom Brady (Adam Vinatieri kick)

• THIRD QUARTER

• NE - Mike Vrabel 2-yard PASS from Tom Brady (Adam Vinatieri kick)

• PHI - Brian Westbrook 10-yard PASS from Donovan McNabb (David Akers kick)

• FOURTH QUARTER

• NE - Corey Dillon 2-yard RUN (Adam Vinatieri kick)

• NE - Adam Vinatieri 22-yard FG

• PHI - Greg Lewis 30-yard PASS from Donovan McNabb (David Akers kick)

• NFL.com: Super Bowl XXXIX Box Score & Statistics