Tom Brady’s last Super Bowl in Houston was an all-time great performance

Thirteen years after providing football fans with one of the best Super Bowl games ever played, the NFL’s title game returns to Houston, bringing the New England Patriots back with it.

So much has happened in the league since 2004, it can be a bit tough to remember all the highlights from that night.

It started with Beyonce singing the national anthem and continued with a halftime show featuring Jessica Simpson (remember, it was 2004), P. Diddy, Kid Rock, Nelly, Justin Timberlake, and Janet Jackson. Yup. This was the “wardrobe malfunction” show. Then the game was won on a 41-yard field goal from Adam Vinatieri to give New England its second title in three years, this one over the Carolina Panthers in a 32-29 victory.

And in between, Tom Brady put together one of his best Super Bowl performances yet, completing 32 of 48 passes for 354 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. He finished the game with a passer rating of 100.5, the third-best of his seven championship game starts.

Early on, it was tough to see any of that coming.

After marching down the field on an opening 34-yard, seven-play drive, Vinatieri missed his first field goal attempt. The next three Patriots drives ended in punts — two by way of three-and-outs — before another missed field goal stalled the offense.

And then, as he usually does, Brady started getting comfortable.

After New England recovered a Jake Delhomme fumble deep in Panthers territory, Brady hit Deion Branch for a 5-yard touchdown. Carolina answered with a touchdown of its own with just more than a minute before halftime.

It was too much time for Brady. He took a second-and-10 snap from his own 33-yard line with 47 seconds left in the half, and delivered one of his signature Super Bowl moments.

The 52-yard pass to Branch led to another 5-yard TD pass from Brady. This time it went to David Givens.

Brady had only completed 10 of 15 passes for 61 yards on his first five drives. On his last two drives before halftime, Brady made 5 of 7 throws for 83 yards and two touchdowns.

For his final touchdown drive, Brady led the Patriots 68 yards down the field before hitting Mike Vrabel — yes, the linebacker — for a 1-yard TD.

And yet, everything up until now seemed like a warmup for Brady’s last act.

With 1:13 remaining in the fourth quarter and the game tied at 29, Brady completed 5 of 6 passes for 37 yards to set up Vinatieri at the 41-yard line for the game-winner.

“Who would you rather have run a two-minute drive at the end of the game than Tom Brady?” then-offensive coordinator Charlie Weis said after the game.

On the final drive of each half, the quarterback combined to go 9 of 12 passing for 115 yards resulting in 10 points.

It’s worth remembering, too, that Brady wouldn’t have been able to do any of that without the stellar performance from his offensive line. The Panthers had one of the best defenses in the league in 2003, racking up 40 sacks on the year. In the Super Bowl, they didn’t sack Brady once.

The Pats’ O-line gave him more than enough time to make plays and set him up for an epic finish.

Brady was rightfully named Super Bowl MVP when it was all over. He led three scoring drives of 68 yards or longer, setting up another one of the most memorable winning kicks in recent history. His 354 passing yards set a career high for him in the Super Bowl.

Now, at 39 years old, he has a chance to top his high mark Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. The stage is nothing new for Brady — this will be his seventh appearance in the big game. But if his performance mirrors what he did last time he played a Super Bowl in Houston, fans will be in for a classic.