Super Bowl LI has already been called one of the greatest games in NFL history, and it’s easy to understand why. The New England Patriots were trailing 28-3 in the second half and came all the way back to win their fifth title, but leave it to Tom Brady to criticize himself after leading the charge.
In a lengthy interview with Peter King of The MMQB, Brady was quick to disagree with the notion that his fifth Super Bowl win was one of the best performances of his career.
“I don’t really think that is necessarily the case,” Brady told King. “I think it was one of the greatest games I have ever played in, but when I think of an interception return for a touchdown, some other missed opportunities in the first 37, 38 minutes of the game, I don’t really consider playing a good quarter-and-a-half plus overtime as one of the ‘best games ever.’
“But it was certainly one of the most thrilling for me, just because so much was on the line, and it ended up being an incredible game. There are so many things that played into that game — a high-scoring offense, a top-ranked defense, the long Super Bowl, four-and-a-half-hour game, the way that the game unfolded in the first half versus what happened in the second half … so it was just a great game.”
Like his head coach, Brady hardly ever takes credit for his own accomplishments. He always deflects the attention onto his teammates, and you can understand why he is upset he threw a pick-six in the Super Bowl. But most players would not have come back from that, and that’s what makes Brady who he is.
We know one person who doesn’t want to let the interception go, but to most it is a distant memory. Only one quarterback in NFL history has erased a 25-point deficit in the second half of a Super Bowl, and we’d be shocked if it didn’t stay that way for a long, long time.
