“I didn’t sleep but for 20 minutes that night" - Tom Brady was at the lowest after Patriots' Super Bowl loss to Giants

Tom Brady clearly remembers the exact moment that left him in a dark place for a brief period. The memories of the heartbreaking defeat to the New York Giants in 2008 remain fresh even after nearly 13 years. The New England Patriots had just wrapped up the regular season 16-0 and looked set to clinch the Super Bowl 42 title. But the Giants pulled off a spectacular display to upset the Patriots 17-14.

Brady was at the top of his game that season, so the questions surrounding his desire and motivation would have surfaced had he won his fourth Super Bowl title that night in Arizona. The NFL star has won a Super Bowl ring before, but playing an undefeated season in pro sports would have meant a lot more. In the end, they were just one win away from recording a perfect 19-0 season.

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Tom Brady reveals his lowest moment in NFL career

New England v Houston

Last week's Man in the Arena episode chronicled the Patriots' almost perfect attempt at NFL glory and Brady's hunger to achieve more had he won his fourth Super Bowl ring. The star quarterback recalls:

“There’s not much I could do about it now, and maybe that’s the lesson in life is, you know, dealing with what happens, positive, negative. You can’t change it, you can learn from it. And hopefully, it can make you a good person and you can deal with life in a positive way. And when things don’t go your way, you know, appreciate the other people who it goes good for and then try your hardest to get back there again,” he said.

Brady further recalled the mood of the players and staff once they returned to the hotel. The former Patriots star said:

“Our hearts were broken. I didn’t sleep but for 20 minutes that night.”

The defeat did hurt him, but Brady was not going to be bogged down by the result. In fact, the versatile quarterback learned from his mistakes and was determined to put his hands on the Lombardi Trophy.

“There’s not much I could do about it now, and maybe that’s the lesson in life is, you know, dealing with what happens, positive, negative. You can’t change it, you can learn from it. And hopefully, it can make you a good person and you can deal with life in a positive way. And when things don’t go your way, you know, appreciate the other people who it goes good for and then try your hardest to get back there again,” he said.

As it turns out, Brady came, saw and conquered the field to achieve records and arguably become the best player the NFL has ever seen. At 44, he has seven Super Bowl rings to his name, including one in his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020.

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