NFL: Patriots win a Super Bowl for the ages
New England Patriots’ Tom Brady gets emotional as he clinched the Vince Lombardi Trophy. (AP | Manila Bulletin)
Houston — They looked old and outmanned. Their star quarterback was frazzled, their stingy defense was a sieve.
So what? Tom Brady and the New England Patriots shrugged and did what they always seem to do: Win the Super Bowl.
Brady led one of the greatest comebacks in sports history highlighted by a Julian Edelman catch that was almost beyond belief. The Patriots pulled themselves out of a 25-point hole against the Atlanta Falcons to a 34-28 win for New England’s fifth NFL championship. It was the first Super Bowl decided in overtime.
“There were a lot of plays that coach talks about, you never know which one is going to be the Super Bowl winner,” said Brady, who earned a record fourth MVP award and a fifth Super Bowl ring, the most for a quarterback. “There were probably 30 of those plays tonight and (if) any one of those were different, the outcome could have been different.”
But down 28-3 in the third quarter, Tom?
“It’s hard to imagine us winning,” the 39-year-old Brady said. “It took a lot of great plays and that’s why you play to the end.”
The Patriots scored 19 points in the final quarter, including a pair of 2-point conversions, then marched relentlessly to James White’s 2-yard touchdown run in overtime after winning the coin toss. White scored three touchdowns and a 2-pointer.
“We knew we had a shot the whole game,” White said. “It was an amazing comeback by our team. It’s surreal right now. You couldn’t write this script.”
Brady guided the Patriots (17-2) through a tiring Atlanta defense for fourth-quarter touchdowns on a 6-yard pass to Danny Amendola and a 1-yard run by White, which came with 57 seconds remaining in regulation. White ran for the first 2-pointer and Amendola did the deed with a reception on the second.
Brady finished 43 for 62, the most attempts in Super Bowl history, for 466 yards, also a record, and two touchdowns.
Before the stunning rally — New England already held the biggest comeback in the final period when it turned around a 10-point deficit to beat Seattle two years ago — the Falcons (13-6) appeared poised to take their first NFL championship in 51 seasons. Having never been in such a pressurized environment, their previously staunch pass rush disappeared, they stumbled on offense and Brady tore them apart.
“There’s nothing you can really say,” Ryan said. ## (mb.com.ph)
