Coming into Super Bowl LII, Tom Brady was looking for ring number six. There is a famous story involving Brady and longtime teammate Julian Edelman that perfectly captures where Brady’s mindset was at this point in his career. After Brady won his fourth Super Bowl, Edelman told him they were going to get him past Joe Montana and his four championships. Brady’s response? He wasn’t going for Montana. He was going for Michael Jordan. By the time Super Bowl LII arrived, Brady had already surpassed Montana with five championships. Now, against the Philadelphia Eagles, he had an opportunity to reach the number he had been chasing: six.
Chasing Jordan
The Patriots entered the game as favorites, and considering what Brady had done just one year earlier by leading the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history against Atlanta, it was difficult to bet against him. What followed was one of the greatest quarterback performances the Super Bowl has ever seen. Brady completed 28 of 48 passes for a Super Bowl record 505 passing yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. New England finished with 613 total yards and did not punt once. And somehow, they lost. That is ultimately why this performance sits at number five on my list rather than higher. Winning matters, especially on the biggest stage in football, but a loss should not completely erase how incredible Brady was that night.
Here We Go Again
After New England went into halftime trailing 22 to 12, Brady came out firing. He connected with Rob Gronkowski for two second half touchdowns, including a four yard score with 9:22 remaining that finally gave New England its first lead of the night, 33 to 32. Brady had erased another double digit deficit on the Super Bowl stage, and at that moment, it felt like we were watching the same story play out again. Brady gets the ball, Brady figures you out, Brady wins. Except this time, Philadelphia refused to go away.
Nick Foles and the Eagles answered with a touchdown drive of their own, putting Philadelphia back in front 38 to 33. Brady got the football with a little over two minutes remaining, two timeouts and a chance to produce yet another iconic Super Bowl winning drive. If you watched Brady throughout his career, you know exactly what everyone was thinking: here we go again. But this time, Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham made the play Philadelphia desperately needed, knocking the football out of Brady’s hand. The Eagles recovered, added a field goal and eventually survived Brady’s final Hail Mary attempt to win 41 to 33.
Sometimes 505 Yards Isn’t Enough
Still, putting this loss entirely on Brady would be ridiculous. New England’s defense simply could not get off the field. Philadelphia accumulated 538 yards, scored 41 points and repeatedly answered whenever Brady dragged the Patriots back into the game. And sometimes that is simply football. Brady benefited from great defensive performances during several of his championship runs, especially early in his career. On this night, when he delivered one of the greatest statistical performances of his life, the defense could not return the favor.
Football is the ultimate team sport. A quarterback can throw for more than 500 yards, account for three touchdowns, lead his offense to 33 points without punting once and still walk off the field without the Lombardi Trophy. Brady would eventually get that sixth ring one year later against the Los Angeles Rams and later add a seventh with Tampa Bay, but statistically, he never produced another Super Bowl performance quite like this one.
A Super Bowl Record in Defeat
505 passing yards, a Super Bowl record. Three touchdowns. Zero interceptions. No punts. And somehow, a loss.
Tom Brady’s performance in Super Bowl LII is proof that sometimes one of the greatest performances in Super Bowl history does not end with confetti. That is why it comes in at #5 on my list of the Top 5 Greatest Super Bowl Performances of All Time.
If you enjoyed the article, make sure to like and subscribe to Ethical Sports Takes so you don’t miss #4 as we continue counting down the five greatest Super Bowl performances of all time.
Leave a Reply