Counted out late, Brady and Patriots wouldn’t be denied
Calmly rifling spirals and maintaining his poise despite duress from the Falcons’ pass rushers, the New England quarterback engineered an improbable 34-28 overtime victory in Super Bowl LI on Sunday night at NRG Stadium — the most dramatic, biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.
Brady cemented his legacy as the winningest quarterback in Super Bowl history with his fifth Vince Lombardi Trophy, passing Joe Montana, his childhood idol, and Terry Bradshaw.
Brady set Super Bowl records with 43 completions, 62 attempts and 466 passing yards.
Brady “tore their hearts out,” New England defensive end Chris Long said after the first overtime game in Super Bowl history.
Embarrassed and angry at being suspended for four games by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to start the regular season for his alleged involvement in the Deflategate controversy, Brady attacked this season and the Super Bowl with a vengeance.
[...] he took the high road after Goodell handed over the Vince Lombardi trophy to Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
Down 28-9 entering the fourth quarter, the Patriots scored 19 points as Brady created a sense of inevitability with each scoring drive.
“He was the same as he always is, cool, calm and collected,” said wide receiver Danny Amendola, who caught a touchdown pass from Brady in the fourth quarter to close the Falcons’ lead to 28-20 with 5:56 remaining.
Brady positioned running back James White for his game-winning run from 2 yards out, completing five consecutive passes in overtime as he found White twice and Amendola, Chris Hogan and Julian Edelman once apiece.
To get the Patriots into overtime, Brady launched a pass over the middle to Edelman that ricocheted off an Atlanta defensive back’s cleat as the wide receiver cradled the football inches above the ground for a 23-yard circus catch.
Brady overcame a rough first-half performance that included an interception by cornerback Robert Alford, who returned it 82 yards for a touchdown.