Tom Brady was as explosive as ever against the Eagles, but his teammates on defense didn't give him much help, or a 6th Super Bowl
MINNEAPOLIS — When Tom Brady is sitting back and enjoying retirement one day in Brookline, Los Angeles, Costa Rica or wherever else he chooses, he’s going to remember this night at U.S. Bank Stadium.
He’ll own the same feelings about this frigid city as the ones that still curdle his stomach when he thinks about those Super Bowl losses back in Phoenix and Indianapolis. The great ones may one day be known for their great victories, but they always curse the losses too.
This latest Super Bowl loss, the third of Brady’s Hall of Fame career with the New England Patriots, is a tough one to swallow. Brady was as sharp, as explosive, as clutch as he’s ever been in the post-season but on this Super Sunday that wasn’t enough.
Brady’s teammates on defense, the ones coached by Hall of Fame-bound Bill Belichick and Detroit Lions-bound Matt Patricia, were awful. The result was a disheartening, disappointing 41-33 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I think if you're not in the game you don't have the chance to win," Brady said. "If you want to be world champions, you have to play in this game. I've played in eight of them and their all good games. Today we had our opportunities. Never really got control of the game and played on our terms. We just didn't make plays when we needed to."
Brady’s eighth Super Bowl, at age 40, unfolded like no one predicted. The supposedly physical, versatile Eagles defense was no match for Brady and the Pats for much of the game. Brady broke his own Super Bowl record by throwing for 505 yards and three touchdowns but the Patriot defense never found any answers for one-time backup Nick Foles and the Eagles won their very first Lombardi Trophy.
Foles, who’ll drink for free the rest of his life in Philadelphia, wrote the final chapter in a truly remarkable football story. He came on in relief of potential MVP Carson Wentz in Week 13 and now walks into history after riddling the Patriot defense for 373 yards and three TDs. He becomes the third quarterback, and first since the Giants' Jeff Hostetler in 1990, to make three or fewer starts but still guide his team to a Super Bowl championship (Washington's Doug Williams is the other).
After digging themselves a 15-3 hole in the second quarter, the Patriots leaned on Brady to rescue their championship hopes. He nearly pulled it off. Brady and Rob Gronkowski lit it up in the second half and when the big guy caught a 4-yard pass with 9:22 left, the Pats had their first lead of the night, 33-32.
But New England’s defense had no answers for Foles, who acted with the calm coolness of a champion. He hit Zach Ertz on a cut across the middle for an 11-yard scoring pass that sent the City of Brotherly Love into party mode.
A minute later, the party got kicked up a few notches.
Brady and the Patriots took over with one timeout and 2:21 left on the clock. This looked like another Brady moment, the kind that has made him the greatest quarterback of his generation.
Not this time. On the second play, Brady dropped back to pass and the supposed vaunted Eagle pass rush finally reached their goal. Brandon Graham pushed inside and batted the ball from Brady’s hand. Rookie Derek Barnett pounced on the loose ball and the Eagle fans at U.S. Bank Stadium exploded. It would be the Eagles’ only sack of the day. “Someone needed to make a play and those guys made it,” Brady said.
It was a play that the Patriots’ defense certainly never made. The Eagles 41 points were the most allowed by a Belichick’s defense in a Super Bowl. This time around the front seven couldn’t touch Foles, the defensive backs couldn’t shadow the Eagles cast of fleet receivers and when it was over the players all seemed to own the same blank stare.
Much of their dismay came when asked why former Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler never lined up at his normal starting cornerback position. Butler was reportedly sick last weekend and didn’t travel with the Pats to Minneapolis, but as the week of practice progressed his name never popped up on the injury list. Belichick only said Butler was “healthy,” and this begs the question why he didn’t play while replacements like Johnson Bademosi and Jordan Richards were burned by Foles.
Asked about the defense’s struggles, Brady covered for his teammates.
“Whatever happens, happens,” Brady said. “Sometimes they play good, sometimes they don’t play as good. Sometimes we don’t play good. It’s a team sport. The Eagles played the better game today. They deserved to win and that’s why they’re the champs.”
This is the end of an era for the Pats. Patricia will move on from his defense’s awful performance and be named the Lions coach. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is headed to the Colts.
Brady will be back, but Butler certainly won’t. Gronkowski actually hinted that he’s not sure how much longer he wants to play.
Decisions like those both define a franchise and also make Super Bowl losses sting. The Patriots may have five shiny Lombardi Trophies of their own sitting in Foxboro but their fans and Tom Brady will always curse the three that somehow got away.