The debate that should take center stage now is whether Tom Brady is the best NFL quarterback ever, and he should win that debate too.
Making the Super Bowl is a huge accomplishment and Brady, with his sixth start, has now done that more than anyone else. In Sunday’s victory, Brady became the third quarterback to win four Super Bowls, and the broken records did not stop there. Brady also claimed the all-time Super Bowl touchdown passing record with a total of 13, four coming from Sunday night.Those touchdowns earned him a place in the record book as he tied Joe Montana with three Super Bowl MVP titles.
Back in September, Kansas City dominated New England 41-14. It was the Patriots’ second loss in four weeks, and people began to question whether Brady was still good enough to play for New England. Brady, the former sixth round draft pick, has been doubted before.
As has become the norm, Brady responded to his doubters by putting an exclamation on what will go down as one of his best seasons. Brady threw for 328 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions in the Super Bowl against a Seattle defense that might be as good as it gets. The Seahawk defense, led by Richard Sherman and the self-proclaimed “Legion of Boom,” has flustered nearly every opponent they have played in the last two years. On Sunday night, it was the Seahawks that were flustered.
Brady publicly said he wants to play into his 40s. He has yet to miss a beat, and 40 actually seems like a realistic possibility for someone who loves the game as much as Brady does. Instead of questioning if he can get the Patriots back to the Super Bowl it seems more prudent to ask when he will be back, and an even better question might be how many more Super Bowl appearances Brady still has ahead of him.
A bad question to ask is whether Manning, or anybody else, is a better quarterback than Brady. He answered that question on the field Sunday night.
