Lights outs: Patriots offensive tackle Matt Light shut down Panthers defensive end Mike Rucker, setting the tone for their teams' one-sided battle in the trenches.(See A Different Game)

He had danced on the emerald green sod of Reliant Stadium for more than four hours. He had gone toe-to-toe and punch-for-punch with defensive end Mike Rucker and other Carolina defensive players for 82 plays. Now, he crouched down in his stance one more time and threw one more block on the biggest play of the season for his team.

Then, as he watched Adam Vinatieri's 41-yard field goal fly between the uprights with four seconds left, giving the Patriots a 32-29 victory, Matt Light damn near lost consciousness.

"Honestly, I about passed out when that went through there," said Light as he put his head through the opening of a white Super Bowl championship T-shirt in front of his locker. "I'm not kidding you, man. I got dizzier than hell."

Rucker is the one who should have felt, well, Light-headed. After registering a team-high 13 tackles, one sack and two quarterback hurries in the Panthers' three playoff games, Rucker was limited to one tackle and one assist by Light.

The Light-Rucker tete-a-tete set the tone for the game. The Patriots' offensive line of Light and right tackle Tom Ashworth, guards Russ Hochstein and Joe Andruzzi and center Dan Koppen clearly won the battle in the trenches against the Panthers' renowned defensive line. Kris Jenkins, Brentson Buckner and Julius Peppers didn't fare much better than Rucker as they were held to six tackles and two assists combined.

Light doesn't look like a dominator. At 6-4 and 300 pounds "after a full meal," he is one of the smaller left tackles in the NFL. "I'm not going to stop anybody just because my body is in the way," he said. Even one of the Patriots' scouts described Light as not quick enough to be a prototypical left tackle and not powerful enough to be a model right tackle.

But Light is feisty and relentless. He relies on leverage and a quick get-off. He takes practice seriously and uses that time to hone his handwork and footwork. A second-round draft pick out of Purdue in 2001, Light has a streak of consecutive starts that go back to the 10th game of his rookie season.