Super Bowl XXXI

AFC:  New England Patriots

NFC:  Green Bay Packers

Date:  January 26, 1997

The Superdome

 

Scoring:

Team                1          2          3          4          Final

NE                   14        0          7          0            21

GB                   10        17        8          0            35

 

AFC playmakers:

FB Keith Byars, TE Ben Coates, RB Curtis Martin

 

NFC playmakers:

WR Andre Rison, WR Antonio Freeman, QB Brett Favre, WR Desmond Howard, TE Mark Chmura, CB Doug Evans, CB Mike Prior, DE Reggie White

 

Network:  FOX (NFL Network rebroadcast)

Announcers:  Pat Summerall, John Madden

 

Pregame:  Yes – Coin toss by Hank Stram

Halftime:  No

Postgame:  No

Commercials:  No

 

Grade:  Very Good.  Would be Excellent, but the NFL Network crawl at the bottom of the screen detracts a little.

 

Notes:  Desmond Howard returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown and Brett Favre passed for two touchdowns and ran for a score as the Packers won their first Super Bowl in twenty-nine years.

Howard, en route to garnering the MVP trophy, equaled a Super Bowl record with 244 total return yards.

It was Favre's arm that struck first, as he hit Andre Rison for a 54-yard touchdown pass on the Packers' second play from scrimmage to take a 7-0 lead. Two plays later Doug Evans made a diving interception of Drew Bledsoe's pass at the 28-yard line, setting up Chris Jacke's field goal and giving the Packers a 10-0 lead just 6:18 into the Super Bowl.

The Patriots answered with touchdowns on their next two possessions. Craig Newsome's pass interference penalty set up the first touchdown and a 44-yard completion from Bledsoe to Terry Glenn preceding Ben Coates's touchdown gave New England its first and only lead. The 24 combined first quarter points were the most in Super Bowl history.

Green Bay struck again 56 seconds into the second quarter as Favre hit Antonio Freeman with a Super Bowl-record 81-yard touchdown bomb. Jacke booted his second field goal on Green Bay's next possession. After a Mike Prior interception, Favre orchestrated a 74-yard, nearly 6-minute drive that concluded with a diving Favre touching the ball against the pylon to give Green Bay a 27-14 halftime lead.

Curtis Martin brought the Patriots to within a score by running in from 18 yards out with 3:27 left in the third quarter. But Howard broke the Patriots' spirit by returning the ensuing kickoff a Super Bowl-record 99 yards. Favre found Mark Chmura for the 2-point conversion to finish the scoring.

Bledsoe was intercepted twice in the fourth quarter as the Patriots never crossed midfield in four fourth-quarter possessions.

Reggie White set a Super Bowl record with three sacks. Favre completed 14 of 27 passes for 246 yards, with no interceptions. Bledsoe completed 11 more passes than Favre, but for just seven more yards, and threw four interceptions.

Running time:  2:37 (2 discs)