Over the course of the week leading up to tonight's Super Bowl LII between the Patriots and Eagles, providencejournal.com each day highlighted the defining moments of the Patriots franchise over the last 25 years. This is the final installment.
Story Published: February 6, 2017
Headline: Brady drives Patriots 75 yards in OT for fifth Super Bowl title
HOUSTON — As if Tom Brady’s legend couldn’t grow any [...]
Over the course of the week leading up to tonight's Super Bowl LII between the Patriots and Eagles, providencejournal.com each day highlighted the defining moments of the Patriots franchise over the last 25 years. This is the final installment.
Story Published: February 6, 2017
Headline: Brady drives Patriots 75 yards in OT for fifth Super Bowl title
HOUSTON — As if Tom Brady’s legend couldn’t grow any bigger. The comeback kid did it again.
When heartbreak looked like it was in sight, the Patriots quarterback did the impossible. Just when he was counted out, Brady proved everybody wrong — again.
The Patriots trailed, 28-9, entering the fourth quarter. No team in NFL history has ever come back from a Super Bowl deficit this big — until Sunday night in Super Bowl LI. Brady orchestrated the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history to send the Patriots into overtime — another NFL first - against the Atlanta Falcons.
With 11:08 left, James White scored on a 2-yard run to give the Patriots a 34-28 win.
You can call it redemption or poetic justice, but on this night, Brady’s fifth Super Bowl championship looks like his most impressive.
“We all brought each other back,” said Brady, who completed 43-of-62 passes, the most attempts in Super Bowl history, and 466 yards, also a record. “We never felt out of it. It was a tough battle. They have a great team. I give them a lot of credit. We just made a few more plays than them.”
The greatest comeback in Super Bowl history seemed possible when Brady got the ball back, down 28-20, with 3:38 remaining. With the ball at the 9-yard line, Brady and the Patriots had one last chance.
Play after play, the Patriots marched down the field. Brady hit Chris Hogan for 16 yards and Malcolm Mitchell for 11. With 2:28 left, Julian Edelman came up with a mind-blowing reception as the ball bounced off Atlanta safety Ricardo Allen’s foot before he made the 23-yard catch.
Danny Amendola came up with a 20-yard reception at the 21-yard line with 1:57 remaining. With 57 seconds left, White plowed into the end zone from 1 yard out. Brady capped off the drive by hitting Amendola for the two-point conversion to tie it, 28-28.
“It tells you how mentally tough this team is,” said Edelman.
Matt Ryan & Co. couldn’t march down the field as the clock ran out with a tie score for the first time in Super Bowl history. The Patriots won the coin toss and received the ball.
Brady hit White (6 yards), Amendola (14) and Hogan (18) to get to the 37-yard line. Edelman was next, bringing the Patriots to the 25-yard line with a 15-yard catch. White continued his career-defining game by gaining 10 on the next play to the Atlanta 15. Brady went to Martellus Bennett on the next play and De’Vondre Campbell got flagged for pass interference to set the Patriots up at the 2-yard line.
Two plays later, White ran in for a 2-yard touchdown. The Patriots ran onto the field and confetti fell from the ceiling.
It was a fitting end for a quarterback who sat out the first four games of the season. But nothing came easy for Brady and the Patriots.
Atlanta took a 7-0 lead after a second-quarter LeGarrette Blount fumble.
Things only got worse for the Patriots after that. Following a Patriots three-and-out, the Falcons extended their lead to 14-0 as Ryan hit Austin Hooper for a 19-yard touchdown pass with 8:55 remaining in the second quarter.
The Patriots crossed midfield for a second time and once again looked bound for some points, but another offensive drive resulted in more misery for Brady. With 2:36 left in the second quarter, Robert Alford intercepted the Patriots quarterback, who threw into double coverage, and returned it 82 yards for a touchdown.
And just like that, the Falcons had a commanding 21-0 lead. Stephen Gostkowski hit a 41-yard field goal with five seconds left in the first half as a dejected Patriots team went into the locker room.
The Falcons took a commanding 28-3 lead after Ryan hit Tevin Coleman for a 6-yard touchdown at 8:36 of the third quarter. The drive saw the Patriots defense allow gains of 17 and 35 yards to Taylor Gabriel as Atlanta went up, 28-3.
Brady finally put together a touchdown scoring drive at 2:12, hitting White for a 5-yard touchdown. Gostkowski missed the extra point and the Falcons led, 28-9.
The Pats threatened again in the middle of the fourth quarter, but after getting to the 7-yard line, the Patriots settled for a 33-yard field goal. On the drive, Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett made his third sack, tying a Super Bowl record.
The Patriots didn’t go away quietly. Instead, they fought. Dont’a Hightower strip-sacked Ryan with 8:31 left in the game. Alan Branch recovered to give Brady the ball back. Five plays later, Brady hit Amendola for a 6-yard touchdown.
With 5:56 to go, the Patriots were down, 28-20, as NRG Stadium erupted. Another defensive stand, aided by a Trey Flowers sack and holding penalty, gave Brady the ball back with 3:38 left.
“[Brady] was the same as he always is — cool, calm and collected,” said Amendola. “He’s the leader, the general, the best ever and that is the end of the story.”