Cinderella just barely avoided having the clock strike midnight as the San Diego Chargers defeated the St. Louis Rams 23-17 in Super Bowl IX to win the Shapiro Trophy. The game started a little slow as both teams showed some opening jitters in the first quarter. The Chargers received the opening kickoff and quickly went three and out. The Rams did the same thing on their opening possession, but thanks to a nice punt return by Eric Parker, the Chargers were the winners in the field position battle. The Chargers started their second drive at the Rams 49. On third and six, Drew Brees found LaDainian Tomlinson out of the backfield and he raced to the Rams 26. The Chargers were unable to mount any more offense and Nate Kaeding came in and kicked a 41 yard field goal to give San Diego a 3-0 lead with 8:30 left in the opening quarter. Still showing some nerves both teams went three and out on their next possession, but this time it was Az-Zahir Hakim who found some space on a punt return and allowed the Rams to regain the better field position. Starting with 3:47 left in the quarter, Kurt Warner finally found his groove and directed the Rams down the field completing 5 out of 5 for all 65 yards and finishing the drive with an 8 yard touchdown pass to Torry Holt. At the end of the first quarter, St. Louis lead 7-3.Drew Brees directed the Chargers into Rams territory at the start of the second quarter, but
Leonard Little's third sack of the game knocked San Diego out of field goal range. Mike Scifres placed his punt perfectly and St. Louis was pinned back at their own 1 yard line. Marshall Faulk broke a nice run up the middle for the Rams but the tackle jarred the ball loose and Drayton Florence fell on it at the Rams 14 yard line. Brees found Tomlinson out of the backfield, but he came up a few yards short of a first down and Kaeding came in and hit a 24 yard field goal to cut the St. Louis lead to 7-6 with 9:20 left in the half. Kurt Warner did not allow the Chargers to gain momentum as he directed the Rams on a time consuming 81 yard drive that culminated with Marshall Faulk sweeping around end from 3 yards out to increase the St. Louis lead to 14-6 with 1:15 left in the half. Tim Dwight had a nice kickoff return that allowed the Chargers to start at their own 38. Drew Brees wasted little time and on the first play went for the home run to Antonio Gates. Gates beat his coverage and was pushed out of bounds at the Rams 21. Three plays later Brees caught the Rams in the wrong coverage and Keenan McCardell leaped into the end zone to cut the Rams advantage to 14-12. Coach Lowe decided to try and send the game to halftime all tied up, but Brees pass to McCardell on the two point conversion was incomplete. Kurt Warner took a knee to run out the final 27 seconds of the half.
The second half started much like the first half as both teams went three and out on their opening drives. The Rams seemed to gain momentum as Warner found Hakim all alone on a 19 yard play to get the Rams into Chargers territory. On the next play, Trung Canidate raced up the middle for 10 yards and the Rams were first and ten at the San Diego 36. Warner attempted a safe pass to Marshall Faulk out of the backfield, but Donnie Edwards stepped in front of the throw and grabbed the interception which he returned to the Chargers 47. The Chargers rode Tomlinson down the field to the Rams 20. On third and eight, Brees throw over the middle to Antonio Gates was intercepted by Aeneas Williams at the St. Louis 6. Warner drove the Rams just into Chargers territory at the 48, but the drive stalled and John Baker punted the ball down to the San Diego 7. Drew Brees ended the scoreless quarter with a 26 yard completion to Eric Parker to get San Diego out of the hole.Brees was incomplete on his first three throws of the fourth
quarter and Scifres was again called on to punt. Scifres hit another beauty which backed the Rams up to their own 16 yard line. On third and eight, Warner tried to force a ball into Ricky Proehl, but Jerry Wilson intercepted the pass and ran it back to the Rams 22. Brees directed the Chargers down to the 4 yard line, but an illtimed false start helped to stall out the drive. Nate Kaeding was called on for the third time in the game and his 26 yard field goal allowed San Diego to regain the lead 15-14 with 10:13 left in the quarter. Kaeding's short kickoff allowed the Rams good field position and Warner started at his own 42. The Chargers appeared to have stopped the drive quickly as a Randall Godfrey sack had the Rams facing third and sixteen at their own 36. When Warner couldn't find an open receiver, he took off and was able to rumble for the 16 yards he needed and a first down at the Chargers 48. Three plays later, the Chargers once again appeared to stop the drive as Steve Foley intercepted another Warner pass, but the penalty for pass interference came out and the Rams drive continued. The Rams faced third and 6 at the San Diego 21, but Coach Marcucci didn't want to risk another interception and Canidate's run came up a couple of yards short. On fourth down, Jeff Wilkins kicked a 34 yard field goal and St. Louis regained the lead 17-15 with 4:30 left in the game. Tim Dwight got loose on the kickoff return and Brees started his final drive at the San Diego 44. Following completions to Parker, McCardell and Gates, the Chargers had moved 
quickly to the Rams 23. A Tomlinson run and a Brees scramble yielded nothing, and the Chargers were facing a third and ten at the two minute warning. Instead of making the safe play, Coach Lowe elected to have Brees try the exact same pass to Antonio Gates that had allowed Aeneas Williams to stop an earlier Chargers drive. This time it was Gates who won the matchup and the throw was on the money. Gates crashed into the end zone and the Chargers lead 21-17. Coach Lowe decided once again to go for the 2 point conversion to try and give the Chargers a 6 point lead. This time, Brees's pass to McCardell was complete and San Diego lead 23-17 with 1:53 left in the game. Kaeding kicked the ball deep and Canidate returned it to the Rams 26. Warner faced 74 yards with 1:45 and no time outs. The Chargers had a chance to end the drive quickly, but on fourth down with 1:08 left in the game Warner connected with Hakim on a 22 yard pass to the San Diego 47. On third and six at the 43, Warner found Proehl alone on the sideline and the Rams were at the Charger's 23 yard line with 29 seconds left. The Rams faced third and four at the San Diego 17 with 14 ticks on the clock, and they surprised the Chargers with a draw play to Marshall Faulk. Faulk broke loose for the first down to the 9, but it appeared the game was going to end. Warner was able to spike the ball with 1 second remaining to give the
Rams one last play. Warner threw the ball into the end zone towards Tory Holt, but the ball was trapped and ruled incomplete to allow the Chargers to escape with the win. The Chargers became the first 4 seed to ever win the Shapiro Trophy. They defeated three division champions in their drive to the title despite only finishing third in their own division. St. Louis won the yardage battle 336-258, but it was Drew Brees who made the plays when it counted and the defense came up big like they had throughout the playoffs. Brees was selected the game's Most Valuable Player completing 18 of 34 for 231 yards and 2 touchdowns.TURNING POINT: Drew Brees 23 yard touchdown pass to Antonio Gates on third and ten on the first play after the two minute warning for the winning score.
MVP: Drew Brees
--submitted by John Lowe--
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