Tom Brady led the New England Patriots to the seventh Super Bowl of his career on Sunday with a clinical 36-17 defeat of the Pittsburgh Steelers after the Atlanta Falcons routed the Green Bay Packers to reach the NFL showpiece.
Brady, 39, is chasing a record-equaling fifth Super Bowl crown in Houston on Feb. 5 after throwing three touchdowns for 384 yards in a convincing defeat of the Steelers at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Brady’s latest Super Bowl appearance comes 15 years after he led the Patriots to victory over the St Louis Rams in the 2002 championship game.
Photo: AFP
“It’s incredible. The team showed a lot of mental toughness over the course of the year,” said Brady, who was suspended for the first four games of the season for his role in the long-running “Deflategate” saga.
“I’m just happy for the team,” Brady added. “I know we’re playing a great team in a couple of weeks, but it’d be great to finish it off.”
Brady was at his deadly best on Sunday as the Bill Belichick-coached Pats outsmarted the Steelers with a series of clever plays which often left Pittsburgh’s defense chasing shadows.
Earlier on Sunday, Matt Ryan led a dominant offensive display as Atlanta crushed Green Bay 44-21 in their last ever game at the Georgia Dome.
The Falcons surged to a 24-0 halftime lead after overwhelming the Packers defense with their varied running and passing game as Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers was never able to get going.
“We’ve got some more business at Houston in two weeks,” Ryan said after the Falcons were presented the National Football Conference Championship trophy.
“We showed up. We did exactly what we’ve been doing all year. It feels really good,” added Ryan, who completed 27 out of 38 pass attempts for 392 yards and four touchdowns.
Green Bay star Rodgers said Atlanta had just been too good.
“We played a hot team. You’ve got to give them credit,” Rodgers said. “Matt is playing incredible right now and that’s a very good offense.”
Rodgers was left frustrated as the Packers squandered vital early scoring opportunities through a missed Mason Crosby field goal and a fumble from Aaron Ripkowski near the Atlanta line with a touchdown begging.
“I feel like we hurt ourselves in the first half more than they really stopped us,” Rodgers said.
Ryan said the Falcons had been determined not to let up on Green Bay, despite building a massive first-half lead.
“We knew going in against Green Bay and going against Aaron [Rodgers] it’s never over,” Ryan said. “He’s such a great player. We just kept at them the entire four quarters. I’m proud of the way we competed.”
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