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February 02, 2004
Best Foot Forward?
Kasay's wayward kickoff sets up Pats' winning drive
By John Delong | JOURNAL REPORTER
HOUSTON - It was the last thing that John Kasay would have imagined. And it was the last thing the Carolina Panthers needed.
But it happened, and it wound up costing the Panthers dearly down the stretch last night in their 32-29 loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVIII.
Kasay gave the Patriots great field position when his kickoff with 1:08 remaining in a tie game went out of bounds - and the Patriots seized the opportunity.
They moved from their 40 to the Panthers' 23 in less than a minute, then won on Adam Vinatieri's 41-yard field goal with four seconds remaining.
"It's disappointing," Kasay said. "The guys battled so hard tonight, the way they kept battling back. They did a great job. It was just one of those things where, somebody had to lose, and somebody had to win. It's unfortunate we lost. But it was a really great game. It had it all."
Kasay, who kicked three game-winning field goals in overtime during the regular season, thought that the Panthers were headed for another overtime situation after they tied the game at 29-29 on Jake Delhomme's 12-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Proehl and his extra point with 1:08 left.
But Kasay hooked the ensuing kickoff, and it rolled out of bounds at the New England 18.
Under NFL rules, the Patriots took possession at their 40.
They moved into field-goal range in six plays, and as it turned out, Vinatieri - not Kasay - was the star.
Kasay shrugged as he explained what happened on the kickoff.
"I just caught it a little late in my swing," he said. "I was trying to make a really good kick, and I just caught it a little high. It's just a little thing as far as technique, but it turned out to be big.
"Doing something like that never entered my mind. I don't know what to say, really. I was trying to make a really good kick, and I didn't get it done."
Kasay, the lone remaining member of the Panthers' inaugural team in 1995, was trying to win his first Super Bowl ring.
He said he would still look back at this season with fond memories.
"We did a lot of good things," Kasay said. "We accomplished a lot of things. As disappointing as it is tonight, we really battled tonight. The guys showed so much heart, and it was a special season in so many ways.
"You've just got to take the bad with the good sometimes. Losing like this is not a perfect situation. But things happen sometimes. I wish it wouldn't have happened like this, but it did."
• John Delong can be reached at jdelong@wsjournal.com