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Patriots 32, Panthers 29
On their sport's biggest stage, the Panthers came oh-so-close to winning their first NFL championship.
Adam Vinatieri's 41-yard field goal with one minute, four seconds left gave the Patriots their winning points. But not after a thrilling fourth quarter that saw the Panthers rally from a 21-10 deficit.
Carolina got back in it with two straight touchdowns – a rugged 33-yard run by DeShaun Foster and an 85-yard strike from Jake Delhomme to Muhsin Muhammad. Although the Panthers failed on two-point conversion passes on both, they led 22-21 midway through the final quarter.
A 1-yard pass from Tom Brady to Mike Vrabel (followed by a two-point conversion by Kevin Faulk) gave the Patriots the lead back. Then the Panthers tied it on a 12-yard pass from Delhomme to Ricky Proehl.
After John Kasay's kickoff bounced out of bounds, Brady quickly drove the Patriots down the field, where Vinatieri finished off the Panthers.
