Tom Brady hailed his team’s mental toughness after leading the New England Patriots to a miraculous Super Bowl victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Houston, Texas, on Sunday.
Brady, 39, said his team never gave up, even after falling 28-3 behind in the third quarter.
“We all brought each other back,” said Brady, who threw for 466 yards and two touchdowns to earn the Most Valuable Player award. “We never felt out of it. It was a tough battle. We’re in the locker room with each other every day and we know what we’re all about. That’s what it comes down to.”
Photo: Mark J. Rebilas-USA Today
The Super Bowl win completed a tumultuous campaign for Brady, who was banned at the start of the season for four games over the “Deflategate” saga.
Brady shrugged off suggestions that the win amounted to a personal redemption.
“This is all positive. We’re going to remember this for the rest of our lives,” said Brady, who had been in tears at the end of the game.
“I’ve got my family here and it’s the end of a long marathon,” said Brady, explaining his emotional response. “I usually wear them on my sleeve.”
However, Patriots owner Robert Kraft could not hide his delight at a win which came after two years of conflict with the NFL.
“A lot has transpired during the last two years and I don’t think that needs any explanation,” Kraft said. “This is unequivocally the sweetest.”
Meanwhile, Brady would not be drawn on whether he considered it the greatest Super Bowl of his career.
The Patriots quarterback has now won a record five Super Bowls, more than any other quarterback in history.
“They’re all great,” Brady said. “This team resembled a lot of teams from the past. Everyone rose to the occasion in the second half and overtime.”
Patriots coach Bill Belichick was also non-committal on whether it was Brady’s greatest performance.
“Tom’s had a lot of great ones — tonight was one of them,” Belichick said, praising his team’s resilience in successfully changing the course of the game. “We just kept trying to find a little crack in the armor and kept plugging away.”
Running back James White — who finished with three touchdowns — said Brady had been the catalyst.
“He’s a great leader,” White said. “We followed his lead. He was motivating us the whole game, even when we were down. He just willed us to another victory.”
Safety Patrick Chung said Brady’s performance ensured he deserved to be regarded as the greatest quarterback in history.
“You just saw that for yourself — he brought us down and he brought us another Super Bowl,” Chung said. “So whoever says that he is not the greatest, you guys are stupid.”
Wide receiver Chris Hogan said Brady had refused to concede defeat even as the Falcons romped into a 28-3 lead.
“He’s our go-to guy,” Hogan said. “The entire time, there wasn’t a moment where he looked like he knew this thing was over.”
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care