It's oddly reassuring in a world where very few things have gone right in the last 11 months that 43-year-old quarterback Tom Brady can change teams for the first time, go to a league doormat and still somehow deliver a Super Bowl title in his first year with the Buccaneers. The first team to ever host the biggest single game in sports capped off a masterful postseason with their best effort yet as they blasted the defending champion Chiefs 31-9. I can't imagine that New England head coach Bill Belichick had the stomach to watch this entire contest since Brady (21-of-29 for 201 yards, 3 TDs) threw all his touchdowns in the first half and they were all caught by other former Patriots: two to tight end Rob Gronkowski (team-leading 6 catches, 67 yards) and one to degenerate receiver Antonio Brown. From there, the Bucs cruised to a 21-6 halftime advantage and eventually their first Super Bowl crown since 2003. Brady continued to extend his own mind-boggling records with his seventh title and fifth Super Bowl MVP award to boot. Haha but is that elite though?
Plenty of people believed that Tampa could pull out a close win but absolutely nobody saw this defensive domination coming from the home team as they forced Chiefs superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes into the worst game of his brilliant pro career: 26-of-49 for 270 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs. Here's a great stat: Mahomes is 6-0 in his young postseason career vs the rest of the NFL & 0-2 vs Brady who also knocked him off in the AFC Championship Game in Kansas City two years ago. The scary part for the rest of the league is that A) Brady confirmed after the game ended that he'll be back for at least another season and B) the Buccaneers' roster is stacked and mostly pretty young so they are not going anywhere anytime soon. For all the great things that Belichick has done with the Pats, letting TB12 go is quickly tearing up the charts for one of the worst decisions in pro sports history. Did I mention that the Brady victory tour returns to Gillette Stadium next season for what should be an insanely anticipated game? Fingers crossed that fans can be safely allowed back in the stands by then.
Brady has long been the greatest football player in history (don't bother debating that fools) but now he's entering even more rarified air with this title that nobody could have predicted before the Bucs started rolling in the postseason and knocking off three former MVPs (Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Mahomes) along the way. He will rightfully be included in discussions with Michael Jordan for the best professional athlete that has ever lived. If you wrote a book or screen play about Tom Brady's life, it would be hard enough to believe but this new Tampa Bay chapter makes it simply incredible. If there were any stragglers left, it also settles the two pertinent questions that we always wondered about: 1) could TB12 win elsewhere?; 2) Who was more important: him or Bill? Finally, say it with me folks: he is not simply a systems quarterback.
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