Bowl Game Past Super
Bowl Game Past Super
Super Bowl XXXI was an American football game played on January 26, 1997 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion following the 1996 regular season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers (16-3) defeated the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots (13-6), 35–21. This was the Packers' third overall Super Bowl victory, and their first one since Super Bowl II. The Packers also extended their league record for the most overall NFL championships to 12.
Beginning with Super Bowl XIX in 1985, the NFC won twelve consecutive Super Bowl games. With this Packer win, the NFC streak was extended to thirteen consecutive wins, with fifteen of the last sixteen contests. The NFC domination in the Super Bowl was indicative with the overall record of 17-10, not including the 1966-1969 Super Bowls when the games were played between the old NFL and AFL.
Kick returner/punt returner Desmond Howard was named Super Bowl MVP, the first special teams player ever to do so. He ran for 154 kickoff return yards, and scored the game-clinching touchdown on a Super Bowl record 99-yard kickoff return. Howard also recorded a Super Bowl record 90 punt return yards, thus setting the Super Bowl records of total return yards (244) and combined net yards gained (244). Howard became the 4th Heisman Trophy winner to be named Super Bowl MVP.
Background
NFL owners awarded Super Bowl XXXI to New Orleans during their October 26, 1993 meeting in Chicago. This was the eighth time that New Orleans hosted the game.
Green Bay Packers
Further information: 1996 Green Bay Packers seasonAfter winning Super Bowl II after the 1967 regular season, the Packers became a losing team for much of the 1970s and 1980s, only making the playoffs in 1972 and the strike-shortened 1982 season. In addition to having the reputation of being a poor team, the Packers were unable to attract good players because many did not want to play in Green Bay's cold winter climate and the fact that they were a small market team. All that changed when Mike Holmgren became the Packers head coach in 1992. During his first year, the team improved to a 9-7 regular season record, barely missing the playoffs. One of the significant players on the 1992 Packers team was second year quarterback Brett Favre, who spent his rookie season playing for the Atlanta Falcons. 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 and to the Minnesota Vikings in 2009.
Green Bay then made the playoffs in the 1993, 1994, and the 1995 seasons. As Holmgren, Favre, and the Packers continued to win, they were able to attract impact free agents like veteran defensive end Reggie White, nicknamed the "Minister of Defense", who joined the team in 1993.
In 1996, the Packers posted an NFC-best 13–3 regular season record after winning 8 of their first 9 games to start the season. After losing two straight games in November (one to the rival Dallas Cowboys), they finished off the regular season winning their remaining five games, including dominating wins over playoff teams Denver Broncos, 41–6, and Minnesota Vikings, 38–10. The Packers also had the best defense in the league in both points and yards. They allowed 210 points and also scored an NFL best 456 points, becoming the first team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins to score the most points in the league and allow the fewest. They set an NFL record with seven wins by at least 25 points.
Favre won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award for the second straight season after throwing for 3,899 yards and an NFC record 39 touchdown passes during the 1996 regular season, with only 13 interceptions. His 39 touchdown passes was the third highest total in league history at that time. Favre was also a good runner, ranking third on the team with 136 rushing yards and scoring 2 touchdowns.
The Packers also had a triple-slammy in a sense with game-breaking kick returner Desmond Howard. The former Heisman Trophy winner's NFL career as a wide receiver was widely viewed as a disappointment up until this point, recording just 92 receptions in his first 4 NFL seasons. After joining Green Bay before the 1996 season, the team used him as a kick returner. Howard excelled in this role and ended up setting an NFL record with 875 punt return yards, while also leading the league in yards per return (15.1) and punt return touchdowns (3). He also caught 13 passes for 95 yards and added another 460 yards returning kickoffs.
Green Bay also had a number of offensive weapons. Wide receiver Antonio Freeman led the team with 933 yards and 9 touchdowns. Multi-talented veteran wide receiver Don Beebe was also a constant breakaway threat, catching 39 passes for 606 yards and adding another 403 yards, and a touchdown returning kickoffs. Beebe was a member of Buffalo Bills during their 4 Super Bowl losses, and was thus extremely eager for another shot at a Super Bowl win. The Packers also had 2 outstanding tight ends: Pro Bowler Keith Jackson recorded 40 passes for 504 yards and 10 touchdowns, and Mark Chmura had 28 receptions for 370 yards.
Although Green Bay's running game did not have any standout backs or Pro Bowlers, running backs Dorsey Levens, Edgar Bennett, and fullback William Henderson were all very good at blocking, running and receiving. Bennett was the team's leading rusher with 899 yards, while also catching 31 passes for 176 yards and scored 3 touchdowns. Levens rushed for 566 yards, caught 31 passes for 226 yards, returned 5 kickoffs for 84 yards, and scored 10 touchdowns. Henderson had 130 rushing yards, caught 27 passes for 203 yards, and returned 2 kickoffs for 38 yards. Up front, Pro Bowl center Frank Winters anchored the offensive line, along with guard Adam Timmerman.
On defense, White continued to be a weapon, recording 29 tackles, 3 fumble recoveries, and led the team with 8.5 sacks. Defensive tackle Santana Dotson was also a big asset, recording 5.5 sacks and 1 fumble recovery. In the secondary, the team was led by safety Eugene Robinson, who recorded 55 tackles, 6 interceptions, and 107 return yards. Defensive back LeRoy Butler was also a major force, recording 65 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 2 fumbles recoveries, and 5 interceptions for 149 return yards and a touchdown.
New England Patriots
Further information: 1996 New England Patriots seasonThe Patriots were also considered a losing team for much of the late 1980s and early 1990s, including a dismal 1–15 regular season record in 1990. Then in 1993, New England turned to veteran head coach Bill Parcells to lead the team, hoping to repeat the success he had with the New York Giants.
Although the Patriots posted a 5-11 regular season record during Parcells' first year, eight of their losses were by 7 points or less. 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. Tight end Ben Coates also became a major contributor as a favorite target of Drew Bledsoe. With that improvement, the team was sold to Robert Kraft in January 1994 for a (then) record price of $200,000,000—an astonishing price considering the Pats had generally been considered a laughing-stock and second rate team, had the worst stadium in the league, and couldn't sell out save for select home games resulting in most games going without television coverage—sports in New England centered on the beloved Bruins, Celtics and Red Sox, not the NFL team orphaned in remote Foxborough, Massachusetts, forty miles outside Boston.
The team then posted a 10-6 record in 1994 after starting the regular season at 3-6, but were eliminated by the Cleveland Browns in their first playoff game. The Krafts had also eliminated the practice of TV blackouts (and courted and nailed deals with local affiliates), and the season resulted in a resurge of interest in the NFL game across the region. Nonetheless, New England then seemed to return to form 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. In the off season, Parcells hired his old Giants defensive co-ordinator Bill Belichick in January 1996 as Assistant Head Coach and receivers position coach. Part of the teams spotty performance might have been that the new coach and the new owner did not really get along well, and Belichick came to serve during the 1996 season as the head coach's interface with the Kraft family and the non-football operations side of the business.
After losing their first two games in the 1996 regular season with lackluster performances, they would run through the rest of the season competitive in every game to finish with an 11-5 record, their best in the Parcells era. The Patriots offense became the 7th best unit in the league in terms of yards, and 2nd best in points after the Packers. Their pass offense, led by Bledsoe and wide receiver Terry Glenn, ranked third in the NFL. Bledsoe would throw for 4,086 yards and 27 touchdowns with just 15 interceptions, and Glenn would set a rookie record with 90 receptions to go along with his 1,132 yards and 6 touchdowns. Tight end Ben Coates was also a big contributor, catching 62 passes for 682 yards and 9 tou
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