also featured outstanding talent such as defensive back Otis Smith, who led the team with 5 interceptions for 181 yards and 2 touchdowns. Cornerback Ty Law intercepted 3 passes, returning them for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns. Safety Lawyer Milloy had 2 interceptions during the season, and was selected along with Law to represent the New England defense in the Pro Bowl. The defense ended the season ranked 6th in scoring, but 24th in total yards allowed. Following their loss to the Rams at home, the Patriots dropped to 5–5, but did not lose again the rest of the season to clinch a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs. Coincidentally, this was the third straight time that the New England Patriots' Super Bowl appearance would be at the Superdome, meaning they joined the Dallas Cowboys as the only teams to play three different Super Bowls in one stadium; the Cowboys had played three at the old Miami Orange Bowl in the 1970s. In their maiden Super Bowl appearance Super Bowl XX (1986) the Patriots lost 46–10 – the biggest margin of victory in a Super Bowl to that point – to a Chicago Bears team coached by Mike Ditka and including Mike Singletary and Walter Payton. The Patriots returned to the Superdome 11 years later for Super Bowl XXXI but lost 35–21 to a Green Bay Packers team including Brett Favre, Reggie White and Desmond Howard and coached by Mike Holmgren. Milloy, Law, Vinatieri, Bledsoe, McGinest, Bruschi and Otis Smith were among the players who had played in that game, while Belichick had been assistant head coach to Bill Parcells. The Patriots did not appear in a Super Bowl hosted by another city until the team played in Super Bowl XXXVIII two years later in Houston, Texas. Playoffs The Rams began their postseason run with a 45–17 win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC divisional round. Expected to be a close shootout between Warner and Packers quarterback Brett Favre, the Rams defense dominated the Packers by intercepting a playoff record 6 passes from Favre and returning 3 of them for touchdowns. The Rams offense also racked up 24 points on 2 touchdown passes by Warner, a touchdown run by Faulk, and a field goal by Jeff Wilkins, helping St. Louis put the game away by the end of the third quarter. One week later, the Rams advanced to