Super Bowl XXXV teams were named Lewis. Linebacker Ray Lewis, a native of Lakeland, Florida, less than an hour from Super Bowl host city Tampa, who made 3 solo tackles, 2 assists, and blocked 4 passes, became the second linebacker to be named Super Bowl MVP after Chuck Howley in Super Bowl V. Lewis also became the first defensive player to be honored since Larry Brown in Super Bowl XXX, and at the time the seventh defensive player to be Super Bowl MVP, joining Howley, Jake Scott, Harvey Martin, Randy White, Richard Dent, and Brown (since Lewis, only three additional defensive players have
Super Bowl XLII with one interception, was named Super Bowl MVP. Giants defensive end Michael Strahan, who retired following the victory, had two tackles and one sack. This game was the first since Super Bowl IX in 1975 (the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings 16–6) that neither team scored at least 20 points. The telecast of the game on Fox broke the then-record for the most watched Super Bowl in history with an average of 97.5 million viewers in the United States. As always, the league considered several potential host cities before choosing the Phoenix area. In this case, the process drew