Ryan ChartrandLegends are born on Sundays, but in Tom Brady’s case, legendary status was earned two years ago when he won his third Super Bowl in four years. Last Sunday against the Chargers was just a little more icing on his cake.
San Diego Chargers fans are still in disbelief over how they just gave the game away. People are still losing sleep over the countless 15-yard penalties, fumbling punts and interception returns, challenging stupid plays and going for it on fourth-and-11 from the opposition’s 31-yard line.
How can this be, and what just happened? Well, like many have experienced over the last several years, you just can’t make mistakes against someone who soon will be known as the greatest quarterback ever.
The big question going into the game was – if it was close near the end, could Philip Rivers outplay Brady?
The answer was obviously no.
Down 14-3 with two minutes to go in the first half, Brady led his team down the field for a touchdown to cut the deficit to four going into the half. Down 21-13 with six minutes left, Brady led the Patriots down the field for another touchdown and a two-point conversion. Three minutes later, he leads the team to what would turn out to be a game-winning field goal.
While Brady lives for these moments, San Diego’s quarterback was certainly not ready.
The playoffs are all about experience. When the Chargers got the ball back with one minute left, you could tell Rivers was flustered and couldn’t quite handle the situation. The difference is when Rivers gave his team a chance to win with a 54-yard field goal, Brady would have gotten them a 30-yard attempt.
Now the big question for football fans is – can Peyton Manning finally take down Brady.
Come on, let’s be realistic.
While Brady is 12-1 as a starter in the playoffs, Manning hasn’t won a big game since Pop Warner football. Manning has all the numbers, commercials and money anyone could ever dream of. But when all that matters is winning like in the playoffs, Manning just doesn’t have what it takes.
Pressure is definitely not a word in Brady’s vocabulary. He has become the most clutch player in all of professional sports, and by far the greatest winner football has seen in a long time. What makes Brady and the Patriots different from everybody else is that the regular season just doesn’t really matter.
The postseason is where the Patriots make their mark. They don’t have an MVP, a coach of the year or any of those awards that people seem to covet so much. Just rings!
So when Brady is done beating the Colts this weekend, he will be headed to Miami for Super Bowl XLI.