Passing to another level of greatness
“They’re all sweet,” Tom Brady said of his five NFL championships. “This is just an incredible team and I’m just happy to be a part of it.”
The New England Patriots quarterback was still a little dazed after winning his fourth Super Bowl MVP award in Sunday’s 34-28 overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
Trailing 21-3 at the break, Brady threw touchdown passes of five and six yards in the second half and knotted the score at 28-28 when he connected with Danny Amendola on a two-point conversion with 57 seconds left.
He then directed the OT drive that ended with a twoyard run by James White to makethePatriotsthefirstteam to win a Super Bowl after trailing by more than 10 points.
“We all brought each other back,” he said. “We never felt out of it. It was a tough battle.”
Brady’s performance certainly wasn’t without its struggles. His incredible second half and overtime came after a first half in which the Patriots managed just three points and he threw an interception that Robert Alford returned 82 yards for a touchdown.
Brady was hurried and harassed for much of the game. The Falcons sacked him five times and hit him on another eight occasions.
His 466 yards passing is a Super Bowl record, surpassing the mark of 414 set by Kurt Warner17yearsago.Healsoset a record for most passes completed in a Super Bowl with 43 and most attempts with 62.
After all Brady has done in his career, was this his finest moment?
“Tom’s had a lot of great ones,” coach Bill Belichick said. “But, yeah, tonight was one of them.”
It’s a triumphant end to a difficult season for Brady, who missed the first four games because of his “deflategate” suspension and dealt with his mother Galynn Brady battling an undisclosed illness. The Super Bowl was the first game she’s attended all season.
“They’re all happy,” he said fighting back tears. “It’s nice to have everybody here and it’s going to be a great celebration tonight.”
Brady also collected the MVP trophy in 2001, 2003 and 2014.
“It was just a lot of mental toughness by our team and we’re going to remember this one for the rest of our lives,” he said.