TAMPA, Florida – Tom Brady still doesn’t pass the torch.
Brady, the 43-year-old quarterback who went to Tampa Bay for the final chapter in a first-round ballot in the Hall of Fame, proved to be the league’s most dominant quarterback by throwing 201 yards and three touchdowns. and winning his fifth Super Bowl MVP Award and seventh ring as the Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 for their first Super Bowl victory since 2003.
With the win, Brady has more Super Bowl titles (7) than any franchise in NFL history, surpassing the six won by the Steelers and Patriots. Brady also made history with his fifth MVP award, becoming the only player with five. Joe Montana is second with three.
“This team is world champion forever, you can’t take it off,” Brady said after the game.
When asked if he would return next season, he added, “Let’s go back.”
Brady joked with Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill in July that he was going to look for his seventh ring after Hill promised a Chiefs dynasty with seven of his own. With the win, Brady is 3-2 against Patrick Mahomes. His first two wins came in games in which he earned a two-digit lead in the half and averted the Chiefs ’furious comebacks.
This time, however, there would be no comeback.
There would only be Brady and the talented teammates he attracted to Tampa Bay when he went south to prove he was more than a piece of the Bill Belichick dynasty. Victory proves that he is the kind of transcendent player who does not need a particular organization to build a dynasty. You can do it anytime, anywhere, in any uniform.
He did so Sunday with Rob Gronkowski, a Patriots teammate who convinced him to retire with promises of sunshine and another Super Bowl ring, and Leonard Fournette, whom he convinced to sign in Tampa Bay after the old first. Rounder was cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
And he did it with Antonio Brown, the worried wide receiver who wanted another shot in the NFL and the quarterback gave him refuge who wanted more talent in an offense that had almost everything.
Gronkowski followed his friend to Florida and was rewarded with the first two touchdowns of the night. His pair of scores, one on an option 8 yards from the goal line and the other a 17-yard reception, pushed the Buccaneers so far ahead of the Chiefs that Kansas City’s field goal counters weren’t enough. .
“It’s great to see great players playing on time,” Brady said. “I love what they did, what they added to the team. Gronk is an amazing player, a teammate, talent, work ethic, commitment. And AB is fair, since he got here, he has done all the right way.So impressed by him Proud of him.
“It takes a lot of people to get to this point and we all have excellent support systems and I think everyone should celebrate them tonight.”
In a game that was intended to change guards between Brady, the original GOAT, and Muhammad, the future GOAT, the veteran quarterback was lethal as he efficiently separated the Chiefs defense. He completed 10 of 13 90-yard passes with three touchdowns in the first half, two to Gronkowski and one to Brown with a minute to go.
In the third quarter, Brady completed just 4 of 6 attempts from 55 yards, but his 25-yard completion to Gronkowski in the third quarter set up a 27-yard Fournette touchdown to play later.
As the young and tenacious Tampa Bay defender hit Muhammad, the Buccaneers ’offensive line kept Brady almost unscathed in his pocket. Defensive end of the heads, Frank Clark registered the unique sack of Brady, that arrived at the first quarter.
While the youngest superstar quarterbacks are about to take over the league, Brady defied the trend during the regular season and didn’t stop until he caught his seventh Super Bowl ring in his new home stadium surrounded by fans who hugged the quarterback like themselves.