The ball hit the ground after the field goal with two seconds left. In a way, it's sad to see that sports have become theatre and that wrapping things up in the most dramatic manner is exactly what FOX and the NFL wanted rather than demonstrating that they wanted to be sure to follow the rules of the game. Clearing the field and running a final kickoff and return just wouldn't have been
tidy. And as a purist, I can't help but imagine what might have happened had Faulk and all the Ram receivers been on the field for one final attempt at a runback...
Great game though, congrats Pats fans!
I wonder exactly the same thing myself, although it was a big longshot that anything would have happened.