HOUSTON — After completing the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady passed on a chance to rub it in the face of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
He let the fans do that. As Goodell made the presentation of the Lombardi Trophy on the field after the wildest Super Bowl in history, he was booed by the crowd, his speech barely audible as he congratulated the franchise on the 34-28 overtime victory and epic comeback.
Patriots’ Martellus Bennett celebrates Super Bowl LI win with daughter
When Goodell was done, Brady, Patriots owner Bob Kraft and coach Bill Belichick had their say.
Kraft was the first with the chance to stick it to Goodell, his buddy who disciplined the team for its role in Deflategate — and Kraft did.
“I thought the Super Bowl we won in Arizona was the sweetest,” Kraft said. “But a lot has transpired since then. And this is unequivocally the greatest.”
Brady, however, took the high road.
“There were a lot of plays, you never know what plays are going to be in the Super Bowl,” Brady said. “There must have been 30 of them that could’ve changed the Super Bowl. Thank you, fans. We love you. We’re bringing this sucker home!”
With the win, Brady now has five Super Bowl titles, the most of any quarterback in NFL history.
How the Falcons blew it in the Super Bowl
Brady and the Patriots looked dead midway through the third quarter when the Falcons held a 28-3 lead. Brady deserved a large portion of the blame for that deficit, as he was unable to deal with the Falcons’ pressure.
Slowly, however, Brady led the Patriots back.
First, Brady led the Patriots on a 13-play, 75 yard drive, capping it off with a 5-yard touchdown pass.
Then, following a drive that ended in a field goal, Brady led the Patriots on another scoring drive — only this one ended in a touchdown, and made it a one-possession game with 5:56 to play in the game.
Finally, Brady got the ball with just under four minutes to play and the ball on the Patriots’ 9-yard line. Ninety-one yards later, James White scored, and Danny Amendola caught a 2-point conversion to tie the game.
The Patriots won the toss and scored on White’s 2-yard run against a gassed Falcons’ defense.
“We have great players,” Belichick said. “Our players compete for 60 minutes … or longer.”
Eliot Shorr-Parks may be reached at eshorrpa@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @EliotShorrParks. Find NJ.com Eagles on Facebook.
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