In Super Bowl XXXIX, the Patriots edged out a win over the Eagles 24-21 on February 6, 2005.
In the fourth quarter, Corey Dillon and Adam Vinatieri put the Patriots ahead by 10 before Donovan McNabb completed a 30-yard pass to Greg Lewis to make Pats fans nervous.
But the final score held and Deion Branch was named the MVP – it was the only Super Bowl won by Tom Brady where he wasn’t named MVP.
Thirteen years later, Super Bowl LII is a rematch of that game and only two of the aforementioned players are still in the NFL: Tom Brady and Adam Vinatieri.
Where are the stars of the 2005 Super Bowl now?
Deion Branch (MVP)
Branch last played in 2013 when he signed with the Colts and was assigned to their practice squad. He was released after the season started though.
He’s active on Twitter, supporting workout videos and training regimens. He also seems to actively support his alma mater, the University of Louisville. Not to mention, he still supports the Pats, as evidenced by his Twitter account.
He made an appearance on the NFL Network's Good Morning Football to talk about the Patriots' season outlook after Julian Edelman went down with an injury earlier this season.
Donovan McNabb
The Eagles' star quarterback, Donovan McNabb, retired in 2013 – officially as a member of Philadelphia's organization, though he had played in Washington and Minnesota after leaving the Eagles in 2009.
McNabb’s personal life has been up and down since his retirement from football. He was reportedly arrested for DUIs in 2014 and 2015. He spent a total of 19 days in jail for the two offenses.
In January, he was fired from ESPN after allegations of sexual harassment from his tenure at NFL Network saw him suspended from broadcasts in December.
Bonus trivia: McNabb was a reserve guard in the 1996 NCAA Basketball Championship game for Syracuse, in which the team lost to Kentucky and future Celtic Antoine Walker.
Greg Lewis
After Greg Lewis caught a touchdown pass in Super Bowl XXXIX, he would later be traded to the Patriots in 2009, though he never made the first team.
He finished his career playing for the Minnesota Vikings in 2010. While there, he was on the receiving end of the famous 32-yard touchdown pass from Brett Favre, which he caught while falling out the back of the end zone. The pass was completed for a touchdown in the last two seconds of a come-from-behind 27-24 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
You know the play.
After serving a few years coaching in college, Lewis spent a year as a wide receivers coach for Philadelphia before being released in January 2017.
Terrell Owens
Shortly after Super Bowl XXXIX, T.O. was embroiled in controversy with the Eagles when he was spotted on the team plane wearing a throwback Cowboys jersey. He was reportedly critical of the Eagles in an interview with ESPN the next day.
In 2009, he was the star of VH1's reality show The T.O. Show.
He eventually ended his career after being a practice player with the Seattle Seahawks in 2012.
In June 2017, he played in the inaugural American Flag Football League game against Michael Vick.
Adam Vinatieri
Adam Vinatieri was most notably the oldest active player in the NFL this past season, playing for Colts.
He’s also second all-time in career points scored with 2,461. He finished this past season 29-34.
But the 4-time Super Bowl champion probably hangs his hat on the Guinness World Record he set for most field goals in one minute.
Watch below.
Corey Dillon
Corey Dillon briefly held the single-game rushing record when he ran for 278 yards as a Cincinnati Bengal in 2000.
His trade to the Patriots seemed like an afterthought due to his lackluster season in 2003. But the 30-year-old logged a career-best 1,653 yards in 2004.
He has spent the last few years spouting criticism of several NFL topics.
In 2016, he publicly called for the Bengals to fire Marvin Lews, “’cause that roster is way too talented to continue comin’ up short year after year.”
He later told the Bengals Beat Podcast last year he doesn't understand why he's not in the Hall of Fame.
“I don’t know if I have to go on TV to politic this thing,” he said. “It seems like that’s where this is going where you have to go and get a job on one of these networks. Somebody should be able to just sit there and look at these numbers and say, ‘you know what, this guy is legit.’”
In 2017, he was named as a finalist for the 2018 Hall of Fame.
So if you ask him where he is these days, he might say, ‘not in the Hall of Fame.’
Tedy Bruschi
Tedy Bruschi is a New England legend, playing his entire career between 1996 and 2008 in Foxborough.
In the post-game celebrations, Tedy Bruschi was snapped by photographers dumping a water cooler over the heads of Bill and Steve Belichick in an iconic photo from that year. Coach Bill Belichick's father, Steve, died in November of that year.
He was named the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year (alongside Carolina's Steve Smith) after he suffered a stroke just days after playing in the Pro Bowl on February 16, 2005.
Last year, he was also named a finalist for the 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Tom Brady
Well if you don’t know where Tom Brady is, you’re not a football fan. You’re also probably not a pop-culture maven as he's married to one of the highest paid supermodels in the world.
But mostly because Tom ‘The GOAT’ Brady is on his way to Super Bowl LII. He’s 40 years old and still slinging the pigskin like it’s his job. Because it is.
MORE: TB12 by the numbers: Unusual stats that stand out for Tom Brady
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