After 24 mostly dismal seasons since Vince Lombardi left, the Packers' fortunes turned after head coach Mike Holmgren and quarterback Brett Favre joined the team in 1992.

After four losing seasons, the Patriots' rise began in 1993 when Bill Parcells was hired as head coach, and the team drafted quarterback Drew Bledsoe.

The Packers then scored 17 unanswered points in the second quarter, including Favre's then-Super Bowl record 81-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Antonio Freeman.

The bidding process was scheduled to award two Super Bowl sites (XXXI and XXXII), the first time that multiple hosts were selected at the same meeting since XXIII and XXIV were voted on in 1985.

To Parcells' credit, much of the improvement was the result of the contributions from their draft picks that they made before the season: linebackers Willie McGinest and Chris Slade.

Sports in New England at that time centered on the beloved, successful, Celtics and Red Sox, and even Bruins, not the NFL team orphaned in remote Foxborough, Massachusetts, thirty miles outside Boston.

The Krafts had also eliminated the practice of TV blackouts (and courted and nailed deals with local affiliates), and the season resulted in a resurgence of popularity in the NFL game across the region.

New England then had a let down and failed to make the playoffs in 1995, a year when many organizations were coming to grips with the new salary cap put in by the NFL to improve competition in the league.

On defense, the team's main weapon was Pro Bowler McGinest, who recorded 49 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries, an interception which he returned 46 yards for a touchdown, and a team-leading 9.5 sacks.

During a September 20, 1992, game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Favre replaced injured starter Don Majkowski and proceeded to lead the team to a comeback victory.

Afterwards, Favre became the starter for the rest of that season and held that position with the Packers until his purported retirement and subsequent conditional trade to the New York Jets in 2008 (followed by a departure for Minnesota in 2009).

Defensive back LeRoy Butler was also a major force, recording 65 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, and 5 interceptions for 149 return yards and a touchdown.

A bad snap allowed Patriots defensive back Larry Whigham to tackle Jaguars punter Bryan Barker at the Jacksonville 4-yard line, setting up Martin's 1-yard touchdown run a few plays later.

With under 4 minutes left in the game, the Jaguars reached the New England 5-yard line, but Patriots safety Willie Clay intercepted a pass in the end zone.

After New England was forced to punt, cornerback Otis Smith recovered a fumble from Jaguars running back James Stewart and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown to put the game away.

San Francisco starting quarterback Steve Young, who was still suffering from a rib injury sustained during the 49ers' 14–0 playoff win over the Philadelphia Eagles the previous week, had to leave the game in the 1st quarter.

It also marked the Packers' first Super Bowl appearance since winning the first two to culminate their dynasty under Lombardi and Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr.

James Brown hosted all the pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage with help from his fellow Fox NFL Sunday cast members Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, and Ronnie Lott.

Fox had introduced the "FoxBox" when it began its NFL coverage in 1994, and the graphic positioned over live action eventually became the norm in virtually all sports broadcasts at the national and regional production levels.

Continuing the trend of Super Bowl television ratings, the telecast broke the then-record for the highest-rated program in the history of the then-ten-year-old Fox network.

The Packers forced the Patriots to punt on the opening possession of the game and started their first drive with great field position after wide receiver Desmond Howard returned the ball 32 yards to the Green Bay 46-yard line.

Green Bay then opened up the scoring with quarterback Brett Favre's 54-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Andre Rison on their second offensive play of the game, giving them an early 7–0 lead.

Then on the second play of New England's ensuing drive, cornerback Doug Evans intercepted a pass from quarterback Drew Bledsoe at the Patriots' 28-yard line.

Bledsoe then threw three straight incompletions, but on the third attempt, Packers cornerback Craig Newsome was called for pass interference in the end zone, which gave the Patriots a new set of downs at the 1-yard line.

After the teams exchanged punts twice going into the second quarter, Favre threw a Super Bowl-record 81-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Antonio Freeman, putting Green Bay back in front with a 17–14 lead, and they would not trail New England again for the rest of the game.

Green Bay then drove to the New England 14, featuring a 23-yard reception by Rison and a 12-yard run by Levens, to score on Jacke's 31-yard field goal to increase their lead to 20–14.

But two plays later, Packers safety Mike Prior intercepted a long pass intended for wide receiver Shawn Jefferson and returned it 8 yards to the Green Bay 26-yard line.

After the game, Favre reflected on his long road to becoming a Super Bowl champion, which included the death of his friend Mark Harvy in a car accident during the season.

Thirty years from now, the kids will be getting ready for Super Bowl LXI, and NFL Films will drag out Steve Sabol — he'll be around 102 then — and he'll talk about how Brett Favre fought through such adversity.

Law gave the Patriots a lead with an interception return for a touchdown off St. Louis' MVP Kurt Warner, and eventually, Vinatieri's 48-yard field goal as time expired following a clutch Brady drive – the first time a Super Bowl was won with a score on the final play – gave the Patriots a 20–17 upset victory and their first Super Bowl on their third visit to the Superdome on the NFL's ultimate stage.