Before the confetti started to fly Sunday night inside NRG Stadium after the Patriots’ pulsating 34-28 victory over the Falcons, Tom Brady removed his helmet and raised his arms triumphantly like he had four other times after Super Bowl titles.
But never like this, never after scoring 31 unanswered points in the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, never with so much emotion invested due to his sick mom and so much at stake in terms of his own football legacy. No, somehow the Hall of Fame moment Brady created through his own sheer determination was better, the magnitude bigger, the relief greater.
After all, Brady cemented himself as the best quarterback in NFL history by not only winning his fifth Super Bowl but willing it to happen, refusing to let a team that trailed 28-3 with less than three minutes left in the third quarter stop believing. Anything was possible with No. 12 going for No. 5.
"We all brought each other back, we never felt out of it," Brady said. "And they’re all special."
Perhaps, but of all Brady’s Super Bowl performances, this one will leave the most indelible mark. He completed 43 of 62 passes for 466 yards and two touchdowns, his only egregious error coming in the second quarter when Falcons cornerback Robert Alford returned an interception 82 yards for a touchdown. Yet when Brady retreated to the halftime locker room, he stayed positive because that’s what leaders do.
"I never got down," Brady said.
Ultimately, that meant the Patriots offense would get up and running.
In Space City, Brady entered his own stratosphere among his peers, soaring ahead of Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw, who won four Super Bowls apiece. Packers great Bart Starr won five NFL championships but never came through in the clutch like Brady did against the Falcons. Nobody has.
This was Michael Jordan exaggerating his follow-through against the Jazz, Wayne Gretzky making another goalie look foolish, Babe Ruth calling his shot. This was greatness personified, the most accomplished quarterback to ever take a snap showing us why after a first half when he looked like nothing more than an over-the-hill guy pushing 40. This is how legends are made.
"You’ve been with us all year," Brady told Patriots fans before hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. "We’re bringing this sucker home."
Tom Brady Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images
Tom Brady celebreates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Falcons to win Super Bowl LI.
Tom Brady celebreates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Falcons to win Super Bowl LI.
(Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
Brady’s eyes were moist and his heart heavy as he spoke to the crowd chanting his name. During Super Bowl week, Brady defended his father, Tom Brady Sr., after Dad criticized NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, and before the game he dedicated the game to his mother, Galynn, who attended despite an illness. He looked toward them and smiled.
"It’s nice to have everybody here," Brady said. "They’re all happy."
The giddy group of Patriots included owner Robert Kraft, who gushed after receiving the trophy from Goodell, the nemesis of New England. Without apology, Kraft acknowledged the sense of vindication so many in the organization felt as he stood next to the man who suspended Brady four games for his role in Deflategate.
"A lot has transpired during the last two years (and) I know that doesn’t need any explanation… but I want to say our fans, this is unequivocally the sweetest," Kraft said.
Two fourth-quarter plays in particular put the Patriots in position to taste success.
The first game-changer came when Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower produced a strip-sack with 8:31 left in the game that forced Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan to lose a fumble at his own 25. Five plays later, Brady hit Danny Amendola for a 6-yard touchdown pass with 5:56 left — the score punctuated by a clever two-point conversion on a direct snap to James White that Brady sold by pretending the ball had gone over his head.
"I ain’t got no words, man, ain’t nobody believed in us," Hightower said. "I’m just doing what teammates expect me to do."
The second pivotal play came on the Patriots’ desperate, tying drive after getting the ball back at the 9 with 3:30 remaining. In a highlight headed straight for NFL Films, Falcons cornerback Robert Alford tipped the ball in the air, Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman never took his eyes off the deflection and held on to a 23-yard reception. Somewhere, Super Bowl XLII hero David Tyree could relate.
"One of the greatest catches I’ve ever seen," Brady said. "I don’t know how the hell he ever caught it."
The Falcons will be asking themselves that question for football eternity, having achieved the NFL ignominy of blowing the biggest Super Bowl lead ever. Watching the Falcons before their collapse felt like someone was holding the fast-forward button down on the remote as they consistently appeared younger and quicker than the NFL’s old guard. They ran the ball with authority and Ryan demonstrated why he was named the league’s most valuable player Saturday.
Then the Falcons defense started to tire and some curious decisions with the lead cued Atlanta’s unraveling. Ahead by eight with 5 minutes left, for instance, Ryan snapped the ball with 21 seconds left on the play clock instead of milking it. On the next series, Ryan took a sack that knocked the Falcons out of field-goal range instead of throwing the ball away.
America was seeing the difference in being the regular-season MVP and the postseason MVP.
"I felt like we were in good position," Ryan said.
Then Brady happened. He followed up an epic fourth quarter by going 5 of 6 for 50 yards in overtime.
"Tom’s had a lot of great games," coach Bill Belichick said, "and this was another one."
History will say it was much more than that.
dhaugh@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @DavidHaugh
Caption Budweiser 2017 Super Bowl commercial
Budweiser’s 2017 Super Bowl commercial titled "Born the Hard Way." (YouTube)
Budweiser’s 2017 Super Bowl commercial titled “Born the Hard Way.” (YouTube)
Caption Budweiser 2017 Super Bowl commercial
Budweiser’s 2017 Super Bowl commercial titled "Born the Hard Way." (YouTube)
Budweiser’s 2017 Super Bowl commercial titled “Born the Hard Way.” (YouTube)
Caption Bai 2017 Super Bowl Ad – Starring Justin Timberlake & Christopher Walken
Bai 2017 Super Bowl Ad – Starring Justin Timberlake & Christopher Walken
Bai 2017 Super Bowl Ad – Starring Justin Timberlake & Christopher Walken
Caption World of Tanks 2017 Super Bowl commercial | “Real Awful Moms”
World of Tanks 2017 Super Bowl commercial | “Real Awful Moms”
World of Tanks 2017 Super Bowl commercial | “Real Awful Moms”
Caption Tide | Super Bowl Commercial 2017 with Terry Bradshaw Tide Super Bowl Commercial with Terry Bradshaw Tide Super Bowl Commercial with Terry Bradshaw Caption T-Mobile Super Bowl ad with with Kristen Schaal | Punished
T-Mobile Super Bowl ad with with Kristen Schaal | Punished
T-Mobile Super Bowl ad with with Kristen Schaal | Punished
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