Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Let’s be perfectly clear right away. Tom Brady is not the only reason why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are now hosting the Super bowl.
In fact, he almost cost them the NFC title game against Green Bay on Sunday.
However, there is no denying that his affect on the entire Bucs organization played into why they hung on for a 31-26 win to create NFL history. One of the most disappointing franchises in professional sports history doesn’t win that game with an ordinary quarterback. The organization believes it can finish games in big spots now, something it hasn’t done since 2002, and Brady has a lot to do with it.
The Buccaneers will now be the first team to host a Super Bowl at Raymond James Stadium after winning three straight road games against two of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game and one of the best defenses in the league.
“It’s been a great journey thus far. We put the work in and a lot of guys just embraced everything that happened when B.A. (Bruce Arians) got here last year,” Brady said postgame. “There were a lot of great things that were happening and a lot of great, young players. I just made the decision [to come to Tampa Bay]. I love coming to work every day with this group of guys and worked really hard to get to this point. It’s a tough game – we’ve had a few tough games in a row and the next game will be really tough, too.
“We know what we’re playing for and we’ve got two weeks to prepare. It’s going to be a great opponent. It will be a really exciting couple of weeks for us.”
Winning teams find a way to overcome their own mistakes while taking advantage of the other team’s miscues and that’s exactly what the Bucs did. Stunningly, Brady threw three second half interceptions to go along with his three touchdowns and 280 yards, but in the grand scheme of things they were never truly game changers. Field position ultimately never ended up costing Tampa Bay (the picks came at the Green Bay 32, 19 and 24 yard line respectively) but it certainly cost the Packers.
The Buccaneers’ defense picked off Aaron Rodgers at the Tampa 49 towards the end of the second quarter, but seemed destined to simply punt the ball way and comfortably take a 14-10 lead into halftime. Instead, Bruce Arians (probably Brady’s decision but, whatever) decided to take advantage of the ineptitude of the Packers coaching staff and Brady hit Scotty Miller for a 39-yard touchdown as the clock hit double zeros, making it 21-10 at the time. The incredible turn of events usually happens to teams like Tampa Bay, not the other way around.
“We didn’t come here to not take chances to win the game,” said Arians. “With the timeout and then the interception, I wanted to come out of there with points [instead of] punting it. I loved the play we had – got a great matchup and got the touchdown. I thought it was huge.
“I sent the punt team out [and then] I went through a couple scenarios in my mind. The clock was stopped and I said, ‘No, we’re going back out. We’ve got a good play. We’re going back out and trying to get some points.”
An Aaron Jones fumble three plays into the second half at the Packers’ 21 turned into an 8-yard touchdown catch for Cam Brate a play later and a 28-10 deficit for the Packers. In fairness, the first of Brady’s three second half interceptions did turn into a 13-play drive for the Packers that ended with a two-yard DaVante Adams TD. That score cut the deficit to 28-23 after Green Bay answered the Brate catch with a TD drive of their own. A missed two-point conversion on a drop would come back to haunt the Packers.
Brady’s other interceptions in the second half never hurt the Bucs with the defense making the vaunted Rodgers-led offense punt twice. Following a Ryan Succop field goal that made it 31-23, the Packers embarked on a 9-play, 58-yard drive that stalled at the Bucs’ 8-yard line with 2:15 to go. Facing 4th-and-goal, head coach Matt LaFleur shockingly chose to kick a field goal, giving Brady the ball back with a chance to ice the game.
We all know how that story ends and it did once again, sending the Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl since 2002 and sending Brady to his 10th. It’s a mind boggling number that’s hard to wrap your head around, but the way Green Bay imploded and the way Tampa was able to keep its composure truly looked reminiscent of all those times other teams came into Foxborough and simply crapped their pants. Maybe it was more the Brady affect than the Gillette or Belichick factor this whole time.
Whatever it is, Brady’s continued run of greatness might be the closest thing we see to Bill Russell in this generation, especially if he plays for two or three more seasons. If you’ve been following NEFJ’s Brady coverage all season, then you’ll enjoy the Belichick bashing and embarrassment the Patriots organization will now face from the media for the next two weeks as much as I will.
As I continue to say since there are still so many people who refuse to root for Brady because they’re Patriot fans, you can still love the team and feel like they need to be called out for how things were handled. They’re not going to ban you from going to games.
The greatest winner of all time has a chance to win a seventh Super Bowl ring. Grab that Brady jersey and a beer and enjoy it on February 7th, he’ll always be the biggest figure in New England sports history, appreciate the greatness, his coach sure does.
“The belief that he gave to this organization that it could be done, it only took one man,” Arians said.