The Eagles then cut their deficit to 24–21, with quarterback Donovan McNabb's 30-yard touchdown pass to receiver Greg Lewis, with 1:48 remaining in the game but could not sustain the comeback.

New England finished the regular season with a record of 14–2, bested only by the Pittsburgh Steelers' 15–1 mark, and ranking seventh in yards gained (5,773) and fourth in points scored (437).

Cornerbacks Tyrone Poole and Ty Law suffered season ending injuries, while safety Eugene Wilson, who led the team with four interceptions, missed several games.

Converted wide receiver Troy Brown turned out to be very effective playing as a defensive back, ranking second on the team with three interceptions.

On December 12, 2004, about a month and a half before the game, New England offensive coordinator Charlie Weis signed a contract to become the head coach of Notre Dame starting in the 2005 season.

[36] With this appearance the Patriots became the eighth team to play in five Super Bowls[36] They joined the Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins, and Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders.

The game was televised in the United States by Fox, with play-by-play announcer Joe Buck and color commentators Troy Aikman and Cris Collinsworth.

James Brown hosted all the events with help from his fellow Fox NFL Sunday cast members Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, and Jimmy Johnson.

For its Super Bowl lead-out program, Fox aired a special episode of The Simpsons ("Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass") and the series premiere of American Dad!

Westwood One broadcast the game on radio, with Marv Albert calling the play-by-play, Boomer Esiason providing color commentary, and John Dockery and Bonnie Bernstein reporting from the sidelines.

Before the game, performances came from the Black Eyed Peas, Earth Wind & Fire, Charlie Daniels, John Fogerty, Kelly Clarkson, and Gretchen Wilson.

Shortly before kickoff, Will Smith introduced Alicia Keys who sang "America the Beautiful," paying tribute to Ray Charles, who died in June 2004.

The theme was also used by Jacksonville-area nonprofit Fresh Ministries in a major event entitled "Bridges of Peace," featuring city officials asking the people to unite for the Super Bowl and heal the wounds of segregation.

Later in the quarter after each team had punted twice, McNabb completed a 30-yard pass to wide receiver Terrell Owens, with an unnecessary roughness penalty against linebacker Rosevelt Colvin adding 9 yards, moving the ball inside the New England 10-yard line.

The Eagles' defense then forced the Patriots to a three-and-out on their ensuing possession, and Philadelphia got great field position by receiving Josh Miller's punt at the New England 45-yard line.

But three plays later, Harrison held up tight end L. J. Smith, enabling cornerback Randall Gay to punch the ball loose, with safety Eugene Wilson making the recovery at the 38.

On their ensuing drive, the Patriots moved the ball to the Eagles' 4-yard line, mainly on plays by running back Corey Dillon, who caught two screen passes for 29 yards and rushed for 25.

But quarterback Tom Brady fumbled the ball on a fake hand-off play-action pass and Eagles defensive tackle Darwin Walker recovered it.

The Patriots then drove 37 yards in seven plays to score on Brady's 4-yard pass to wide receiver David Givens with 1:10 remaining in the period, tying the game 7–7 by halftime.

After the teams traded punts, the Eagles tied the game with 3:39 left in the third period with a 74-yard, 10-play drive that was capped by McNabb's 10-yard touchdown pass to running back Brian Westbrook.

The Patriots immediately broke the tie again with a nine-play, 66-yard scoring drive that was keyed by three plays from running back Kevin Faulk, who caught two passes for 27 combined yards and rushed once for 12.

A roughing-the-passer penalty on defensive tackle Corey Simon on the same play set up kicker Adam Vinatieri's 22-yard field goal with 8:43 left in the game to increase the Patriots' lead to 24–14.

In all three Patriots' Super Bowl wins in the decade, they held a double digit lead in the fourth quarter, but all of their victories were decided by a field goal.

Center Hank Fraley said in an interview the day after the game that McNabb was "almost puking" due to two large hits from Bruschi and defensive end Jarvis Green on back-to-back plays.

"[62] The Eagles failed to recover their ensuing onside kick attempt, with Patriots tight end Christian Fauria catching the ball cleanly and sliding down to seal possession for New England.

Branch also became the fourth player to have at least 100 yards receiving in back-to-back Super Bowls, joining John Stallworth, Jerry Rice and Antonio Freeman.

With the victory, Tom Brady became just the fourth quarterback to win at least three Super Bowls, along with Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana and Troy Aikman.

[36] One ad that drew the ire of many—including the NFL—was for the internet domain provider Go Daddy, which tweaked the controversial halftime of the previous year's game with a mock censorship hearing featuring a comely woman, Nikki Cappelli (played by WWE Wrestler Candice Michelle), having a "wardrobe malfunction".

Fox pulled the second airing of the ad, scheduled for the two-minute warning of the fourth quarter, along with a five-second plug, and it was replaced with a promo for The Simpsons.

It featured players who were not in the Super Bowl, headlined by Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger being at a beach resort, depressed he did not make it in.