Down 25 points on the biggest stage football has to offer, Tom Brady pulled through and showed everyone why he should be known as the greatest football player of all time.
Tom Brady is the greatest football player of all time.
At this point it’s not even debatable. You could make the case that he wasn’t “before the game”, but now seal the deal; close the book, Brady’s Super Bowl 51 performance sealed his legacy as the greatest football player of all time. He is the Michael Jordan of football, except Brady just might be even better.
To do what Tom Brady did during Super Bowl 51, on the biggest stage imaginable, proves once again why he is the Greatest Player of All Time (G.O.A.T.).
Brady had receivers dropping passes left and right, his offensive line was a revolving door, as they allowed the Falcons to save Brady repeatedly, and the Patriots’ defense through the first 40 minutes of the game was abysmal.
But fighting all odds of defeat Brady did what he has always done, he found a way to win the game. Brady is not the most talented player to ever play football, but he is without a doubt the most willful, very similar to the way Michael Jordan was. Brady is not the G.O.A.T. because of his talent, he is the G.O.A.T. because nobody wants to be great more than him. It sounds cliché, but with Brady it really is the case.
No other quarterback in NFL history could have kept the Patriots within single digits of the Falcons on Sunday night.
The Patriots have no elite players on the active roster besides Brady, but he still finds a way to win. Brady makes stars out of mediocre to average players like wide receivers Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan, and running back James White.
When you look at almost every other all-time great quarterback, you can link him or her to an all-time great pass catcher. Former 49ers quarterback Joe Montana had Jerry Rice to throw to and former Colts and Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning had Marvin Harrison as a weapon, but Brady has gone almost his entire career without elite players on his offense.
What Brady did Sunday night was something of mythical proportions; a 25-point comeback in 21 minutes is something that has never been done before, and will probably never be done again. Brady pulled off a performance that sports fans will be telling their grandkids about.
To this day Jordan’s final shot against Utah is still replayed; that was legendary, this is in another stratosphere. There are rare moments in sports when you get to witness a historic performance on the biggest stage, Sunday night was one of those rare moments. What Brady did Sunday night is what makes the all-time greats, great.
With all due respect to Manning, Montana and Rodgers, they are not on the same level as Brady. Brady took over the Patriots when they had a historic losing culture, the team was 0-2, coming off a 5-11 season, and head coach Bill Belichick was on his way to getting fired. 16 years later, the Patriots are the gold standard of the NFL, Belichick is considered to be one of the all-time great coaches, and of course, Tom Brady is without a doubt the greatest player in the history of the sport.
Appreciate his greatness while you still can, it may not be around much longer as Brady turns 40 years old in August which means he may retired soon.
