If anyone had doubts whether Tom Brady is the best quarterback of all time, they shouldn’t exist anymore.
Super Bowl LI proved Brady is a step above everybody else, leading the New England Patriots to an impressive comeback against the Atlanta Falcons. The Pats were down 3-28 in the second half, but Brady led his team to 31 unanswered points. Yes, you read that right. 31 unanswered points, including setting a two-yard TD from James White on OT to lead the Pats to a spectacular Super Bowl ring.
In case you’re wondering, this was the first Super Bowl to go to OT. And this was the first team a team mounted back from a deficit bigger than 10 points. It’s safe to say this 25-point comeback will stand as the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history for a long, long time.
But back to Brady. TB12 compiled several records during Sunday’s win. He finished with 466 yards, completed 43 of 62 passes, and even though he threw a pick-six, he also threw two TD passes. It was Brady’s fifth Super Bowl ring, he won his fourth Super Bowl MVP Award, and led the team in the majority of the offensive categories.
Sure, he struggled in the first two quarters. But the whole team looked lost, and Brady himself couldn’t have changed the game on his own. However, when the game was on the line, Brady stepped it up. He suddenly made his teammates better. And most importantly, he emerged as the leader the team needed when everything looked lost. That’s the true mark of a champion.
As if that wasn’t enough, Brady leads all players in the Most Super Bowl MVP Awards department. He has four, topping the likes of Joe Montana (three), Eli Manning, Terry Bradshaw and Bart Starr (two). He’s been the best player on the biggest stage time and time again. That’s gotta count for something, right?
The best thing is that we will still have Brady for a while. He’s going to be 40 when the 2017 season starts, but who cares? He has said on several occasions that he wants to play until he’s 44 or 45. And a few hours before the start of a Super Bowl a report came out saying the Patriots wanted to sign Brady to another extension. He’s currently signed until 2019, so a two-year deal would make him a Patriot until 2021 when he’ll be 44.
Maybe by that time it’ll be time to retire for him, or maybe not. The only thing we need to do is to appreciate his quality and enjoy him while he’s still around.
He’s not going to be around foverer. And players like Brady certainly are once-on-a-generation talents.
His most recent Super Bowl ring can confirm that.