Super Bowl

Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes to lead the New England Patriots to a 24-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles and their third Super Bowl title in four years on Sunday, cementing a place among the NFL's great teams.

The Patriots joined the Dallas Cowboys as the only team to win three Super Bowls in four years and Brady confirmed his place as one of NFL's greatest play-off quarterbacks.

The smallest city to ever host the NFL's showcase event, Jacksonville, in Florida, had endured a week of unrelenting criticism in the build up to the big game as visitors scrambled to find hotel rooms, cabs and tickets that were going for $5,000 a pair.

However, as the floodlights at an Alltel Stadium containing 78,125 fans sparkled, all seemed to be forgiven.

After Janet Jackson's controversial "wardrobe malfunction" last year, the half-time show went off without incident as Paul McCartney entertained the crowd.