Last Sunday in Houston, Tom Brady cemented himself as the greatest quarterback of all-time. He led the New England Patriots all the way back from down 28-3 against the Atlanta Falcons to win the Super Bowl in overtime 34-28.
He finished 43-62 for 466 yards. He added two touchdowns and was picked off once. For as awful as he played in the first half of the game, he came back like the legend that he is in the second half. The game was the first Super Bowl ever to go into overtime. It will go down as possibly the greatest Super Bowl of all-time.
The Super Bowl win was Brady's fifth in seven tries. He was previously tied with Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw among quarterbacks with four Super Bowls and has now broken the record. He is now tied with Charles Haley for most Super Bowls at any position with five. Brady will turn 40 later this year but a sixth ring is not out of the question. His play hasn't slowed down at all and his age has not caught up with him yet.
There are other things that make Brady the greatest other than his Super Bowl wins. For his entire career other than the three seasons he had Randy Moss, Brady has had average receivers. Not only has he had average wide receivers, he hasn't exactly had the greatest running backs either. He hasn't had the luxury of playing with hall of famers. And his best current weapon -- Rob Gronkowski -- is always hurt. And despite having little help, Brady has had an unbelievable career. Since the Patriots drafted him 199th in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, they have never had a losing record.
He won five Super Bowls. He's a four-time Super Bowl MVP. A 12-time Pro Bowler. A two-time First-team All-Pro. He's won the NFL MVP and NFL Offensive Player of the Year award twice. And he's led the NFL in touchdowns four times and in yards twice.
He's the greatest quarterback of all-time because of his accolades and his lack of support. Critics will say that he's always had a good defense to fall back on. That he has Bill Belichick, arguably the greatest coach ever. And the fact that he plays in a weak division that includes the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, and Buffalo Bills, which almost guarantees six wins every year. But Brady gets it done every year. With a revolving door of average players, castaways from other teams, over-the-hill former stars, and no-name role players, Brady has had the greatest career of all-time. No more questions, no more debates. After last Sunday's historic comeback, he put to bed any other answers to the greatest of all-time question other than Tom Brady.
