Super Bowl XXXI (31) Green Bay VS New England Recap

Super Bowl XXXI Green Bay 35, New England 21 Recap

Green Bay Defeats New England in Super Bowl XXXI. Desmond Howard named MVP

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 most valuable player trophy (MVP), equaled a Super Bowl record with 244 total return yards.

It was Favre that struck first, as he hit Andre Rison for a 54-yard touchdown pass to take a 7-0 lead on the second play of the game. 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 preceeding Ben Coates's touchdown gave New England its first and only lead of the game. The teams combined first quarter points of 24 were the most in Super Bowl history.

Green Bay struck quickly again just 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. Following a Mike Prior interception, Favre orchestrated a 74-yard, 6-minute drive that concluded with Brett Favre diving to the goal line pylon for a touchdown that gave 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. Desmond Howard became the first special teams player to be named Super Bowl MVP.

Scoring Information

                       1  2  3  4  Final
                       _________________
New England Patriots  14  0  7  0     21
Green Bay Packers     10 17  8  0     35

Green Bay   -  Rison 54 pass from Favre 
(Jacke kick)             
3:32 1st

Green Bay   -  FG Jacke 37    
6:18 1st

New England -  Byars 1 pass from Bledsoe 
(Vinatieri kick)        
8:25 1st

New England -  Coates 4 pass from Bledsoe 
(Vinatieri kick)      
12:27 1st

Green Bay   -  Freeman 81 pass from Favre 
(Jacke kick)           
0:56 2nd

Green Bay   -  FG Jacke 31    
6:45 2nd

Green Bay   -  Favre 2 run  
(Jacke kick)                        
13:49 2nd

New England -  Martin 18 run  
(Vinatieri kick)                  
11:33 3rd

Green Bay   -  Howard 99 kick return 
(2-pt Chmura from  Favre)  
11:50 3rd

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Quick Facts

Score:

Super Bowl XXXI

Green Bay 35
New England 21

Location:
Louisiana Superdome
New Orleans, Louisiana
January 26, 1997
Attendance: 72,301

MVP:
Desmond Howard, Special Teams
of the Green Bay Packers

Coaches
GB Mike Holmgren
NE Bill Parcells

Super Bowl XXXI Ring, Green Bay 35 vs New England 21, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana, MVP Desmond Howard, Special Teams of the Green Bay Packers

Super Bowl XXXI Ring