AP
Patriot Adam Vinatieri celebrates after kicking the game winning field goal

The New England Patriots have stunned the Saint Louis Rams to win their first Super Bowl, the championship game of American professional football. Adam Vinatieri kicked a 48-yard field goal as time ran out, to give the Patriots a 20-17 victory in Super Bowl 36, at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Rams, who had been a 14-point favorite before the game, fell behind 17-to-3 when three turnovers resulted in three New England scores. Saint Louis scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to tie the game at 17, when Kurt Warner threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Proehl with one minute, 30 seconds to go.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady led his team 53 yards down the field in the closing minute, to set up Vinatieri's winning kick.

Brady was named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player. The 24-year-old started the season as a backup quarterback, but took over the starting job in the second week of the season when Drew Bledsoe was injured. Brady led the team for most of the season.

The New England defense held Saint Louis' highly acclaimed offense in check for much of the championship game.

This victory is the Patriots' first in three Super Bowl appearances. This year's game was held amid unprecedented security, following the September 11th attacks on the United States. Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge says more than 5,000 military and security personnel were on hand and used new technology to protect the 80,000 people in the stands.

An estimated 800-million people around the world saw the game on television.

Some information for this report provided by AP.

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