updated 9:13 p.m. ET Feb. 11, 2004

HOUSTON - Feeling the pressure, the quarterback known as “Mr. Cool” threw his worst pass of the playoffs. The kicker known as “Mr. Money” failed — not just once, but twice.

When it really counted, Tom Brady and Adam Vinatieri were perfect again.

Together, they gave the New England Patriots a bookend championship that also added to the reputations as two of the most unflappable players.

Brady stood up to Carolina’s nasty pass rush, making the throws that moved the Patriots into position for their second Super Bowl title in three years. Vinatieri then delivered another last-second kick for a 32-29 victory Sunday.

The dependable duo did it again.

“You just block out what happened before,” said Vinatieri, who made a 41-yard field goal with 4 seconds left.

Normally, these two don’t have to try to forget.

With his second Super Bowl title in three years, Brady stamped himself as one of the game’s best clutch passers. But he was feeling failure after throwing his only interception.

The Patriots were already well within Vinatieri’s range early in the fourth quarter when Brady forced one that he immediately knew he should have just flung away.

Instead of taking the field goal and an eight-point lead, Brady got greedy and made an uncharacteristic mistake. The quarterback who didn’t throw an interception at home during the regular season simply threw one and hoped.

The ball floated right to cornerback Reggie Howard, whose interception in the end zone left Brady hoping for another chance.

“I think I was throwing to the right guy, but I just didn’t put enough air on it,” Brady said. “I threw it right to him. We fought back from that and went right down and scored.”

Brady got more chances, and delivered twice. He led a pair of scoring drives in the final minutes, including a final drive that was a bookend to the closing seconds of the Patriots’ win over the Rams two years ago.

With the score tied and less than 2 minutes left, he made three clutch throws that essentially decided it.

He threw 13 yards to Troy Brown, then 13 more to him again. Then, with overtime looming and the clock running down, Brady made a perfectly timed 17-yard pass to Deion Branch along the right sideline.

As Branch tumbled out of bounds with 9 seconds left, another Lombardi Trophy was within the Patriots’ grasp. All they needed was a 41-yard field goal from Vinatieri, who beat the Rams two years ago with just such a kick.

This time, he had a few troubling things on his mind. He had missed his first two tries — one flew wide right, one was partially blocked — and wasted a chance to put New England ahead and get the early momentum.

“Adam’s got the mentality of Deion Sanders,” said linebacker Mike Vrabel, who caught a touchdown pass. “If he ever gets beat, he can’t wait for another chance.

“He’s going down as the clutchest kicker — is that a word? However it should be said, he’s that kicker.”

The two early failures were so unlike him that the Patriots knew he wouldn’t have — simply couldn’t have — a third.

“Adam is ’Mr. Money,”’ Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel said. “He has made so many kicks with the game on the line.”

Now, he was lining up in the only domed stadium that had befuddled him. He missed two in Houston during the regular season — the first time he’d ever been off the mark in a dome.

This time, the ball stayed true.

“I looked up and it was going down the middle,” he said. “I’ve been very fortunate, very lucky to be on such great teams.”

The quarterback and the kicker made them great again.

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