Game Summary
The Baltimore Ravens got to the Super Bowl with their defense, which gave up a record low 165 points in 16 regular season games, so it wasn't surprising that they won the Lombardi Trophy the same way.
Led by mobile, aggressive middle linebacker Ray Lewis, who was named the game's MVP, Baltimore allowed the New York Giants only 152 yards of offense and forced five turnovers, including an interception return for a touchdown, in a dominating 34-7 win.
The Ravens opened the scoring halfway through the first quarter with a 38-yard touchdown pass from Trent Dilfer to Brandon Stokley, set up by Jermaine Lewis's 42-yard punt return, and they made it 10-0 at halftime on Matt Stover's 47-yard field goal. Chris McAlister's interception of Kerry Collins ended a late drive that brought the Giants to the Baltimore 29-yard line, which turned out to be their deepest penetration of the game.
With less than 4 minutes to go in the third quarter, the teams staged the most explosive 36 seconds in Super Bowl history, featuring three touchdowns, two of them by the Ravens. It started when Duane Starks intercepted another Collins pass and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown.
That seemed to seal the game for Baltimore. But Ron Dixon of the Giants returned the kickoff 97 yards to cut the score to 17-7. Then Jermaine Lewis got that touchdown right back with an 84-yard kickoff return.
The Ravens allowed the Giants only one first down in the final quarter, while adding 10 more points of their own on Jamal Lewis's 3-yard touchdown run and Stover's 34-yard field goal.
Baltimore was the fourth wild-card team to win the big game. They had finished second to the Tennessee Titans in the AFC's Central Division, but they beat Tennessee, 24-10, in the conference semi-finals.
During their four post-season victories, the Ravens gave up only 23 points and one offensive touchdown.