# Super Bowl XXXI
**Super Bowl XXXI** was an NFL championship game played on January 26, 1997, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, in which the [Green Bay Packers](https://www.edgepedia.org/green-bay-packers) defeated the [New England Patriots](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-england-patriots) 35-21 to win their first [Super Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl) in twenty-nine years.[1](https://www.patriots.com/press-room/super-bowl-xxxi) The Packers' third Super Bowl triumph was also their league-leading 12th NFL championship, and it ended a title drought dating to the 1967 season.[2](https://static.clubs.nfl.com/image/upload/packers/bkyqxjwniji7xsyoyhuf.pdf) Brett Favre passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third, and return specialist Desmond Howard, the game's MVP, broke the Patriots' momentum with a Super Bowl-record 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.[1](https://www.patriots.com/press-room/super-bowl-xxxi)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date and site | January 26, 1997, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans; attendance 72,301[1](https://www.patriots.com/press-room/super-bowl-xxxi) |
| Final score | Green Bay Packers 35, New England Patriots 21[1](https://www.patriots.com/press-room/super-bowl-xxxi) |
| Significance for Green Bay | First Super Bowl win in 29 years; third Super Bowl title and 12th NFL championship, the most in league history[1](https://www.patriots.com/press-room/super-bowl-xxxi) • [2](https://static.clubs.nfl.com/image/upload/packers/bkyqxjwniji7xsyoyhuf.pdf) |
| MVP | Desmond Howard, the first special teams player to win the award, with 244 total return yards and a record 99-yard kickoff-return touchdown[1](https://www.patriots.com/press-room/super-bowl-xxxi) |
| Quarterbacks | Brett Favre: 14 of 27, 246 yards, 2 passing touchdowns, 1 rushing touchdown, no interceptions; Drew Bledsoe: 4 interceptions[1](https://www.patriots.com/press-room/super-bowl-xxxi) |
| Records set | 99-yard kickoff return (Howard), 81-yard touchdown pass (Favre to Antonio Freeman), 3 sacks (Reggie White), 24 combined first-quarter points[1](https://www.patriots.com/press-room/super-bowl-xxxi) |
| Betting line | Green Bay favored by 14 points[3](https://as.com/us/us/2018/01/22/nfl/1516591489_336867.html) |
## Background
The Packers had not appeared in a Super Bowl since January 1968, when the [Vince Lombardi](https://www.edgepedia.org/vince-lombardi)-coached team beat the [Oakland Raiders](https://www.edgepedia.org/oakland-raiders) in [Super Bowl II](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl-ii); the franchise had gone nearly three decades without returning to the title game before coach Mike Holmgren and quarterback Brett Favre led the turnaround.[4](https://www.the-independent.com/sport/american-football-history-stacked-in-favour-of-the-pack-1284101.html) • [5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k6NPt7gnGQ) The Patriots reached the game by defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship Game, one of two second-year expansion teams (with the Carolina Panthers) that came within one game of the Super Bowl that season.[6](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/big-cats-believe-in-miracles-1282875.html) New England was the second team in NFL history to overcome an 0-2 start and advance to the Super Bowl.[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-01-26-sp-22429-story.html)
Green Bay entered as a 14-point favorite, and the matchup carried a coaching subplot: Holmgren described himself as the "decided underdog" against [Bill Parcells](https://www.edgepedia.org/bill-parcells), who had won two Super Bowls with the [New York Giants](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-giants).[3](https://as.com/us/us/2018/01/22/nfl/1516591489_336867.html) • [8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1997/01/26/the-packers-between-hype-and-history/424fd7ae-7952-4e37-9596-84fd422390ae/) Parcells' contract dispute with Patriots owner [Robert Kraft](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-kraft) became public during Super Bowl week, with NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue asked to adjudicate whether its terms allowed him to coach another team in 1997.[9](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/american-football-howard-s-way-destroys-parcells-dream-1285621.html)
## Game summary
**A record first quarter.** Favre struck on the Packers' second play from scrimmage, hitting [Andre Rison](https://www.edgepedia.org/andre-rison) for a 54-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. On the second play after that, Doug Evans dove to pick off a [Drew Bledsoe](https://www.edgepedia.org/drew-bledsoe) throw at the 28-yard line, and Chris Jacke's ensuing field goal put Green Bay up 10-0 only 6:18 into the contest. The Patriots answered with touchdowns on their next two possessions, the first set up by a Craig Newsome pass interference penalty and the second following a 44-yard completion from Bledsoe to [Terry Glenn](https://www.edgepedia.org/terry-glenn) that preceded Ben Coates' touchdown catch, giving New England its only lead of the game. The 24 combined first-quarter points (New England 14, Green Bay 10) were the most in Super Bowl history.[1](https://www.patriots.com/press-room/super-bowl-xxxi)
**Green Bay pulls away.** Fifty-six seconds into the second quarter, Favre hit Antonio Freeman on a Super Bowl-record 81-yard touchdown pass. Jacke added his second field goal, and after a Mike Prior interception Favre directed a 74-yard drive of nearly six minutes, finishing it by diving the ball against the pylon for a 27-14 halftime lead.[1](https://www.patriots.com/press-room/super-bowl-xxxi)
**Howard's return.** [Curtis Martin](https://www.edgepedia.org/curtis-martin)'s 18-yard touchdown run with 3:27 left in the third quarter brought the Patriots within six points at 27-21. Howard then returned the ensuing kickoff a Super Bowl-record 99 yards for a touchdown, and Favre found Mark Chmura for the two-point conversion to complete the scoring. Bledsoe was intercepted twice in the fourth quarter, and New England never crossed midfield in its four fourth-quarter possessions.[1](https://www.patriots.com/press-room/super-bowl-xxxi)
**Defensive standouts.** [Reggie White](https://www.edgepedia.org/reggie-white), the Packers' veteran defensive end, set a Super Bowl record with 3 sacks of Bledsoe.[1](https://www.patriots.com/press-room/super-bowl-xxxi) • [5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k6NPt7gnGQ) Green Bay's four interceptions of Bledsoe, together with Howard's kickoff return, were the plays the Patriots' own game notes credit with deciding the outcome.[10](https://static.www.nfl.com/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2022/NE.pdf)
## MVP and statistical leaders
[Desmond Howard](https://www.edgepedia.org/desmond-howard) became the first special teams player awarded the Super Bowl MVP trophy, equaling a Super Bowl record with 244 total return yards; his 99-yard kickoff return was itself a Super Bowl record.[1](https://www.patriots.com/press-room/super-bowl-xxxi) Favre completed 14 of 27 passes for 246 yards with no interceptions, adding two passing touchdowns and a rushing score. Bledsoe completed 11 more passes than Favre but for only 7 more yards, while throwing 4 interceptions.[1](https://www.patriots.com/press-room/super-bowl-xxxi)
## Significance
The victory was Green Bay's first league championship since 1967 and its 12th overall, the most of any NFL franchise.[2](https://static.clubs.nfl.com/image/upload/packers/bkyqxjwniji7xsyoyhuf.pdf) • [11](https://www.packers.com/history/championship-seasons) It also extended the NFC's Super Bowl winning streak to 13 games.[1](https://www.patriots.com/press-room/super-bowl-xxxi) For Favre, it was his only Super Bowl title, and for the franchise it marked the return to prominence of a team that had spent the previous two decades in largely inconsistent form under Holmgren's rebuild.[5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k6NPt7gnGQ) The game was played in New Orleans, the same city that hosted the Packers' Super Bowl victories of the Lombardi era, a resonance contemporary coverage noted given the memories Lombardi still stirred among American audiences.[3](https://as.com/us/us/2018/01/22/nfl/1516591489_336867.html) • [4](https://www.the-independent.com/sport/american-football-history-stacked-in-favour-of-the-pack-1284101.html)
The Packers' playoff history page records the game's attendance as 72,031, while the Patriots' official recap lists 72,301; both figures come from the teams' own records.[12](https://www.packers.com/history/playoff-history) • [1](https://www.patriots.com/press-room/super-bowl-xxxi)
## References
1. [Super Bowl XXXI, New England Patriots official website](https://www.patriots.com/press-room/super-bowl-xxxi)
2. [Super Bowl XXXI game program/summary PDF, via packers.com](https://static.clubs.nfl.com/image/upload/packers/bkyqxjwniji7xsyoyhuf.pdf)
3. [New England Patriots, favoritos en el Super Bowl por sexta ocasión, AS.com](https://as.com/us/us/2018/01/22/nfl/1516591489_336867.html)
4. [American Football: History stacked in favour of the Pack, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/sport/american-football-history-stacked-in-favour-of-the-pack-1284101.html)
5. [Brett Favre's First Super Bowl Win! Packers vs. Patriots Super Bowl XXXI, NFL (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k6NPt7gnGQ)
6. [Big cats believe in miracles, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/big-cats-believe-in-miracles-1282875.html)
7. [A Super Primer for XXXI, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-01-26-sp-22429-story.html)
8. [The Packers, between hype and history, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1997/01/26/the-packers-between-hype-and-history/424fd7ae-7952-4e37-9596-84fd422390ae/)
9. [Howard's way destroys Parcells' dream, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/american-football-howard-s-way-destroys-parcells-dream-1285621.html)
10. [Super Bowl XXXI game notes, New England Patriots media guide PDF](https://static.www.nfl.com/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2022/NE.pdf)
11. [Packers Championship Seasons, packers.com](https://www.packers.com/history/championship-seasons)
12. [Green Bay Packers Playoff History, packers.com](https://www.packers.com/history/playoff-history)
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