Strong safety Billy Jenkins deflected a Craig Hentrich punt in the second quarter, limiting the kick to just 31 yards. The deflection started a Rams drive that concluded in a 29-yard field goal by Wilkins. On the opening possession of the second half, cornerback Todd Lyght blunted a Titans drive, breaking through the left side to block Al Del Greco's 47-yard field goal attempt.

The block by Lyght was a masterful bit of planning by Gansz, who created a double-team ploy on the left side. He forced tight end Jackie Harris into making a decision about who to block, and the Tennessee veteran took the inside rusher, providing Lyght a free path to the kicker. Lyght's play set up the Rams' first touchdown, a 9-yard pass from Kurt Warner to Torry Holt.

St. Louis' coverage teams also did a commendable job against Titans return ace Derrick Mason. The three-year veteran came into the game averaging 39.5 yards per kickoff runback during the playoffs. He had 122 yards on five returns against the Rams, with a long of 35 yards. The Titans' average starting point following a kickoff was their own 23-yard line. They started three drives at or inside their own 20-yard line.

Sunday, Mason had just one punt return for minus-1 yard.

"I never felt like I had room to operate," Mason said. "They were aiming their kickoffs down into the corner and hemming me in."

Backup linebacker Leonard Little, the subject of much attention this week because of his guilty plea in a 1998 vehicular homicide case, was a special teams terror with four tackles.

Bishop better

Tennessee strong safety Blaine Bishop, who left the game on a backboard after sustaining a neck injury with 8:24 remaining in the third quarter, actually rejoined his teammates for the postgame interviews and will accompany them home on Monday morning.

Doctors worked on Bishop for 12 minutes as he lay on the Georgia Dome carpet, but X-rays at nearby Piedmont Hospital were negative. The seven-year veteran was injured when he tackled Rams tight end Ernie Conwell head-first.

"I thought he was knocked out, he hit me so hard, and it made such an impact," Conwell said. "It was good to see him just moving his legs after a few minutes. You hate to see that happen to any player, let alone in a Super Bowl."

The St. Louis players actually huddled on their bench to pray for Bishop during the delay. The Titans players gathered around coach Jeff Fisher for a prayer and he assured them that Bishop had movement in his extremities and that doctors were simply exercising caution in taking him for the X-rays.

"It shook a lot of people up," said free safety Anthony Dorsett Jr. "The guy is our leader."

One week

While both Fisher and Rams counterpart Dick Vermeil noted during the days of preparation that they preferred the normal two-week layoff between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl, the one-week routine again served the league well.

This marked the fifth time the Super Bowl has been played with only one week in between, and three of those contests have been decided by 7 points or fewer. The average margin now for the one-week games is 9.3 points. The average differential with the two-week hiatus is 16.3 points.

This marked only the eighth Super Bowl game decided by 7 points or less.

Quarterbacks rule

Warner became the 17th quarterback to capture the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player honor, and that is the most of any position. Running backs have won the MVP award seven times. Quarterbacks have now won the award two consecutive years, with Denver's John Elway claiming it last season.

"You don't even dream about getting into a Super Bowl as a kid, much less winning something like this," Warner said. "It's just an incredible ending to a magical year for me and my family. It's wonderful and I'm truly blessed."

Warner is only the sixth player to win the MVP award during the regular season and in the Super Bowl. The other five: Bart Starr, Green Bay (Super Bowl I, 1966); Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh (Super Bowl XIII, 1978); Joe Montana, San Francisco (Super Bowl XXIV, 1989); Emmitt Smith, Dallas (Super Bowl XXVIII, 1993); and Steve Young, San Francisco (Super Bowl XXIX, 1994).

Warner broke Montana's record for most passing yards, with 414. The old record was 357 yards in Super Bowl XXIV. Tennessee's Steve McNair broke the Super Bowl record for most rushing yards by a quarterback. His 64 yards topped Montana's 59 yards in Super Bowl XIX.

Older is better

At age 63, St. Louis' Dick Vermeil became the oldest head coach to win a Super Bowl. He also waited the longest of any coach to make a repeat appearance in the game, 19 years. The oldest previous coach to win the game was Weeb Ewbank, who was 61 when the New York Jets upset the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.