Tom Brady got hurt in the third quarter of the Super Bowl and many people feel he wasn’t the same after that. The Patriots quarterback was sacked by Giants defensive end Justin Tuck with 6:12 left in the third and was examined by doctors on the sideline. Even backup Brian Hoyer began throwing after the hit.
So what happened on the play? According to Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald, Tuck drove Brady’s left shoulder into the turf and aggravated a sprain from earlier in the season.
Brady did not miss a play after the hit, but he was only 7-17 afterward including an interception on a bomb to Rob Gronkowski. Brady’s accuracy wasn’t perfect like it was when he hit 16 straight passes, but he still looked good enough. Drops by Wes Welker and Aaron Hernandez hurt the team late. Maybe if he felt better his pass to Welker would have been more on point, but he still seemed close enough.
Is this a legitimate explanation for why New England’s offense was ineffective late in the game? Maybe so, but if the blocking were better, there wouldn’t have been an issue. Credit the Giants defense for getting to Tom and knocking him around.
Photo Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE
(note: it is unclear if the picture above is from the play in question)
