The last time we saw a meaningful football game, it took place in Houston Texas on Sunday, February 5th, 2017. It was Super Bowl 51. The AFC Champion New England Patriots faced the surprising NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons with the league’s MVP in Matt Ryan and a high-powered offense that averaged over 30 points game throughout the season. There was a lot on the line as there always is in the big game. If the Falcons won, this would be their first Super Bowl title in franchise history and if New England won, this would be their second title in two seasons and fifth in franchise history. This would also be a historic win for Bill Belichick and Tom Brady as they would become the first coach and quarterback tandem to win five Super Bowls. This would also be the game that would potentially move Brady’s name into the “GOAT” category. Every Super Bowl that New England has been featured in has always been one to remember and we can definitely say the same about this one as they erased a 25-point lead and came back to win Super Bowl 51 by six points. Tom Brady became the first quarterback ever to win five Super Bowls. So here’s the million dollar question: Where does he rank in my opinion?
Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback ever to play our game. The numbers speak for themselves. The most Super Bowls won by a starting quarterback with five, most playoff wins and just this season, he surpassed his fellow legendary quarterback in Peyton Manning to become the all-time winningest quarterback in NFL history. A guy who was selected in the sixth round with the 199th overall pick by the New England Patriots has built up quite the resume for himself and he’s worked to get to this point in his career. This is a guy who in his age 39 season in 2016 played in 12 games total and threw 28 touchdown passes and a league low, two interceptions all year long. The older he’s gotten, the better he’s been it seems and he’s shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Every year, he puts the Patriots in the best position to win games and he’s won without a standout wide receiver. That to me stands out the most when I look at his body of work. He’s won games with receivers such as Deion Branch, David Givens, Troy Brown and in 2013, with a young receiving core, he led the Patriots to the two seed in the AFC and had them a game away from the Super Bowl.
Whenever he decides to hang it up and retire, he needs to be inducted into the hall of fame sooner rather than the five-year rule instituted now. He’s worked for everything he has. Nothing was given to him.
