Flowers in full bloom
Biggest plays on biggest stage
FOXBORO — When Trey Flowers returned to Gillette Stadium last night, he was sporting a Super Bowl LI championship hat and an unrelenting grin.
Neither seems to have left his face since the Patriots pulled off the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history Sunday night to stun the Atlanta Falcons.
“Not a lot, I’ve been wearing it proudly, man,” Flowers said. “It’s hard work to get this hat, so I’m proud of it, yeah.”
The Patriots may be wearing different hats if not for a signature play that Flowers delivered late in the fourth quarter.
Leading 28-20, the Falcons had driven well into field goal range. A Matt Bryant kick would have given Atlanta a two-score lead and put the game on ice.
But with four minutes to play, Flowers had other ideas.
The defensive end put Alex Mack on his heels on a second-down snap, then blew by the All-Pro center to drop quarterback Matt Ryan for a 12-yard sack. The play knocked Atlanta back to the 35-yard line, and after defensive end Chris Long drew a holding penalty, the Falcons were forced to punt.
Tom Brady and the Pats offense did the rest.
“I was just thankful, I was blessed to be able to execute on the opportunity when my time was called,” Flowers said.
Flowers knows it was a huge play in the game, but the gravity has yet to sink in.
“It still hasn’t hit me yet, man. I’ve been seeing a lot of people post about it, and all on the TV and things,” Flowers said. “But it’s just one of those things that I really have to sit down and say, ‘Twenty years from now people are still going to talk about this game.’
“It still hasn’t hit me, but it feels good.”
After falling behind 28-3 with 8:31 to play in the third quarter, Flowers and the defense played shutout football the rest of the way. He had a feeling that if they gave Brady a chance, the quarterback would come through in crunch-time.
Flowers said he has seen it all his life. He was nine years old when Brady led his first Super Bowl-winning drive.
“You grow up watching a guy and you see him go through these things, every game just about. Just willing to win, fighting, making some spectacular throws,” Flowers said. “Spectacular game-winning drives. He’s at the pinnacle of his career and at a high point right now. You just don’t expect nothing less.”
Flowers has garnered a reputation as one of the team’s most tireless workers. He explained that it’s not by chance that Brady keeps delivering.
“I work out after practice a lot, and I’ll be after practice working on my technique,” Flowers said. “And every day No. 12 is out there working on his technique. Working on his craft.”
As a lineman, Flowers has to take a day off from time to time to recover. Not Brady.
“He’s out there every day,” Flowers said. “For him to do that consistently over amount of years that he’s been in the league is crazy. You just know that’s the reason why he’s won this many championships. That’s the reason why he’s great.”
Though the Patriots are taught to “ignore the noise,” its clear that the defense heard their naysayers. Flowers dismissed them as lazy, and pointed to the championship as proof.
“I just think that all the people who kind of doubted us, or said we didn’t face any good team, good opponents things like that, they weren’t really watching film, they weren’t really understanding the scheme of things,” he said. “Because this defense, we just do what it takes to win.”
A year ago, Flowers was left watching the playoffs from the sideline while on injured reserve. On Sunday night, he had 2.5 sacks and came through with one of the biggest plays of the season.
Flowers believes Super Bowl LI delivered a timeless message.
“Just never give up. Anything can happen,” Flowers said. “In the biggest game of the season, we were down the biggest margin in history and we overcame it. So anything is possible and just keep on fighting.”