It read like the stereotypical sports movie. A team falls down behind early in the first half, slowly adjusts in the third quarter, their best player locks on, and some crazy plays are made as the lovable underdog triumphs at the very last moment.
Only instead of a lovable underdog, it was the New England Patriots, who for nearly two decades, have terrorised the rest of the NFL. But when Patriots running back James White made that last run to barely score a touchdown and win the game, it completed the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history as New England and Tom Brady grabbed their fifth ring in the 34-28 victory over Atlanta.
Brady brilliance, improbable heroes
It did not look like a brilliant day for the Patriots and Brady at first. The speedy Falcons scored the first 21 points of the game, which culminated when Brady threw a pick-6 to cornerback Robert Alford and then gave a tackle attempt which saw him face plant into the ground. And while New England played somewhat better in the third quarter, the Falcons still outscored them there and led 28-9 going into the final 15 minutes of play.
Then Brady went absolutely nuts, throwing 16 for 21 passes and earning 196 yards in the fourth quarter. He certainly had help from his teammates, as Julian Edelman made a massive catch with two minutes left that banished the memories of past Super Bowl catches which had doomed the Patriots. Atlanta arguably messed up down the stretch as well as they demonstrated poor clock management through a constant decision to keep passing.
But the Patriots pulled it off when it mattered the most, grabbing two straight two-point conversions to force overtime. After winning the overtime coin toss, the Patriots had the ball and the Atlanta defence looked exhausted. Brady went 5-6 in the overtime period, the Patriots grabbed the touchdown after four minutes of play, and the comeback was complete.
GOAT talks begin
The Patriots will be celebrating this win for some time, and owner Robert Kraft called this victory “unequivocally the sweetest” of their five championship wins (no doubt helped by the lusty boos against NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after the game). But now sports analysts and the Patriots will look at the past and future respectively.
The past because as ESPN senior writer Kevin Van Valkenburg declared about Brady, “He's the greatest of all time. Period.” Whether Brady is truly the greater NFL player ever will always continue to be a matter of debate, but the case for him as the GOAT is stronger today than it ever was.
But while those analysts compare Brady to past and present greats, the New England Patriots will look to grab championship number six and tie with the Pittsburg Steelers for the most Super Bowl wins in the league. Brady may be turning 40 next year and the Patriots will have to make adjustments as certain free agents leave.
But as the Atlanta Falcons learned, this Patriots squad and their duo of Brady and Belichick can never, ever be counted out.
