Third Quarter

Before we get to the scoring, time for a Fox Instantpoll: Who thinks the second half should be canceled and U2 allowed to play for two more hours?

Scoring: New England 17, St. Louis 3: Adam Vinatieri, 37-yard field goal at 1:18.

Impact player: Other than Bono? Brady and Smith steadied the Patriot offense, which had the ball most of the quarter. Smith was only 15 yards shy of 100 yards rushing when the quarter ended, and Brady settled down to calmly lead his team into field-goal range.

Missed opportunity: Again, the Rams didn’t get Faulk going. He had only 12 carries through three quarters. And going into the fourth quarter they were 14 points down and couldn’t afford to run the ball too often. Nice use of the NFL most valuable player runner-up.

Best number: If you are a Patriot fan, you only have to get through 15 minutes of game time before winning your first Super Bowl title. If you are a Ram fan, you are only trailing by 14, and the Rams can put 14 points on the board in about 30 seconds. Of course, the way the Rams are playing tonight, they might need about 30 hours to put up 14 points.

Worst number: The version of “A Hard Day’s Night” that Terry Bradshaw sang with Paul McCartney. Oh sure, Paul could never reunite the Beatles, but he can sing a classic song with Bradshaw on national TV. It made me want to sing “Help!” And Howie Long kept touching McCartney’s shoulder! He never touches Teri Hatcher during those Radio Shack commercials. Something is wrong with that.

Instantpoll results: Those who want U2 to sing for the next two hours: 100%. Those who want to play the second half: 0%. (Informal poll. I was the only participant.)

Houston Mitchell