Brady cements legacy with win

John Paul Czerwinski, Assistant Sports Editor

Atlanta Falcon fans are still cowering in disbelief as their beloved dirty birds blew a 25-point second half lead to fall short to the Patriots in a heartbreaking overtime Super Bowl 51 thriller 34-28. The Patriot’s comeback, led by Tom Brady, James White and company, was gigantic.

How big you ask?

“Tom the Terrific” lead the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history and  orchestrated two 75-plus yard drives late in the fourth quarter and overtime to win his NFL quarterback record, fifth Super Bowl title. It was like it was written in the stars.

Brady’s legacy gets put in jeopardy with a horribly timed pick-six in the first half, and an eighteen point deficit. Then, sure enough, he responds with his back against the wall by throwing for a Super Bowl record 466 yards to lead a record-setting comeback and hoist the trophy to set  himself above the field as the greatest quarterback of all-time.

White played  out of his mind in this game, and had the best game of his pro career. Not a bad time to step up.

White had a Super Bowl record 14 receptions, to go along with his 139 total yards. The Wisconsin alumni also scored the game winning touchdown run in overtime for his third touchdown of the day to cap off a terrific Super Bowl victory.

As much as people would like to say the Falcon’s choked this game away, that simply wasn’t the narrative. Blaming MVP Matt Ryan would have been another perfect scapegoat for the Falcon faithful, but no MVP choke story would pan out.

Brady and the Patriots snatched it right out from under the Falcons. Ryan played an excellent game, going 17/23 with 284 yards and two touchdowns, posting a quarterback rating of 144.1, much higher than Super Bowl MVP Brady’s rating of 95.2.

At the end of the day, the Falcon’s have to tip their hat to Brady and the Patriots for showing unbelievable heart and grit.

Down 25 in the second half, it would have been easy for the Patriots to roll over, but nobody on that sideline did. The defense stepped up by not giving up any points after mid way through the third quarter.

The offense stepped up by scoring on five of the team’s six drives in the second half and overtime.

All it took was one mistake on a Ryan fumble to open the door just enough for the Patriots to storm through.

Not only does this win make Brady the most decorated quarterback  of all time, it may also go down as the most clutch performance in NFL history.

Brady went 28/38 for 287 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. Brady posted a 112.5 passer rating in the second half as compared to his 65.2 rating in the first half.

Brady won his fifth NFL title in dramatic fashion, and cemented himself into permanent football immortality. He answered all the critics and doubters with one of the best performances anybody has ever seen on the biggest stage. Five Super Bowl rings, four Super Bowl MVPs and two regular season MVPs later, “Tom the Terrific” solidified himself as the GOAT.