TB’s Brady as good as ever in winning another championship
TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady took one final snap, went down on his knee, popped up and hugged his Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammates.
With that big, familiar smile.
They were champions and Brady put together another vintage performance on football’s biggest stage — doing everything his unquestioned greatness has forced the world to expect whenever he takes the field.
In whatever uniform or city he’s in.
Brady was masterful. He was magnificent. He was the Super Bowl MVP.
Again. For the fifth time. At 43 years old.
Brady delivered Tampa Bay its second Lombardi Trophy, and first since 2003, with a 31-9 victory over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night.
“Being down here and experiencing it this with this group of guys, every year is amazing, and this team is world champions forever,” Brady said. “You can’t take that away from us, so thank you guys,
thank you all.”
He was in control from beginning to end, going 21 of 29 for 201 yards with three touchdowns — all to some old buddies from New England — two to Rob Gronkowski and another to Antonio Brown. Brady even showed some of that competitive fire that has guided his career, jawing with Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu in the middle of the field after Brown’s TD.
After not throwing a touchdown pass in the first quarter of his previous nine Super Bowls, Brady eliminated that glitch on his ledger with an 8-yard toss to Gronkowski, who came out of retirement for a moment like this, with 37 seconds left.
By going 16 of 20 in the first half, Brady also added a record to his milelong list as the first player in Super Bowl history to complete 80% of his passes and throw for three touchdowns in any half.
This is all old hat to an ageless wonder with so many championship rings — now, seven of them. But this one was different from those others with Bill Belichick and the Patriots, with whom he already had established an unmatchable legacy.
In 2002, Brady burst onto the scene with his first Super Bowl MVP award by beating the then-St. Louis Rams. He got his second two years later with a 32-29 win over Carolina. In 2015, Brady threw four TD passes in a 28-24 victory over Seattle that was sealed by Malcolm Butler’s goal-line interception.
Four years ago, Brady passed for 466 yards in leading the Patriots back from a 28-3 halftime victory to a 34-28 win over Atlanta.
Consider this: At this time a year ago, Brady didn’t know where he would be playing. His contract with the Patriots was expiring and he chose to not re-sign with the only team for which he played.
And there were doubts — not from Brady, of course — as to whether he could still be the final piece for another team. Bruce Arians and the Buccaneers jumped at the chance and signed him in March, and the expectations suddenly rose.
It’s the aura Brady naturally exudes. He’s a winner, and the Buccaneers were instant believers.