Brian Bahr / Getty Images

Rodney Harrison (37), Asante Samuel (22) and Mike Vrabel of the Patriots celebrate after defeating the Eagles 24-21 in the Super Bowl on Sunday. Harrison had two interceptions and Vrabel caught a touchdown pass.

updated 8:34 a.m. ET Feb. 7, 2005

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Dynasty? Definitely. The New England Patriots don’t have to proclaim greatness. The NFL record book does it for them.

The Patriots won their third Super Bowl in four years Sunday, 24-21 over the Philadelphia Eagles, and now they are challenging history.

It was their ninth straight postseason victory, equaling Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers. It was coach Bill Belichick’s 10th playoff victory in 11 games, one better than the great Lombardi. And it matched Dallas’ run of three championships in four years in the early 1990s.

“We’ve never really self-proclaimed ourselves anything,” said Tom Brady, who is 9-0 in the playoffs. “If you guys say we’re great, we’ll accept the compliment.”

This one wasn’t overpowering, and at times it was downright ugly. But not even Belichick seemed to care about that.

“To me this trophy belongs to these players,” Belichick said. “They met all comers this year, a very challenging year. We’re thrilled to win. These players played great all year, their best in the big games and they deserve it, they really deserve it.”

With MVP Deion Branch tying a Super Bowl record for receptions with 11, Brady efficiently running the offense and Rodney Harrison sparking a smothering defense, the Patriots (17-2) didn’t need a last-second field goal from Adam Vinatieri this time.

But his kick — a 22-yarder with 8:40 left — provided the points that made the difference.

This time, the Patriots sealed it with a stop.

Philadelphia (15-4) got the ball back at its 4 with 46 seconds remaining. It was hardly enough time and far too much territory to cover against such a formidable foe.

Harrison got his second interception with 9 seconds remaining to end it.

Playing before a sea of mostly green jerseys in the crowd of 78,125, the Patriots ended Philadelphia’s chance of heading north with its first pro sports title since 1983. Indeed, it’s been 45 years since the Eagles won the NFL crown. And even though they made it to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1981 — after three straight conference championship flops — their sparkling season still ended in disappointment.

“We were too sloppy to win,” receiver Terrell Owens said. “It was great to get back, but we made too many mistakes. We could have won and that hurts.”

Corey Dillon, a newcomer to the championship game, scored the go-ahead points on a 2-yard run early in the fourth period. And when Branch wasn’t catching passes, the Patriots flaunted their versatility by again using linebacker Mike Vrabel to find the end zone.