Tom Brady’s Top 5 Most Exciting Wins
(Last night's Patriots win) would rate as the greatest victory in the career of 99 percent of quarterbacks in NFL history. It’s debatably top-five for Brady. -Chad Finn
What an observation by Chad Finn in this morning's Boston Globe. Here are the five most exciting Tom Brady games (so far) in his illustrious career.
1. Super Bowl LIII vs. the Falcons. I mean, this was far and away the most exciting football game I've ever seen in my entire life. Even if you are not a Patriots fan, any team that comes back from a 25-point deficit in the third quarter of ANY game is remarkable. Throw in overtime? Oh, and yeah, the fact that it was the Super Bowl. Hard to bring any more excitement than that.
2. Super Bowl XXXVI vs. the Rams. This one ranks second because we were still used to being mistreated by the sports gods. New England was still in the throws of the Curse of the Bambino, the Patriots had never won a single Super Bowl. We were used to have horrible things happen in championship games. Then, they did it! The Patriots actually pulled one off. I'll never forget John Madden famously questioning Bill Belichick for trying to score a touchdown in the waning moments of regulation. "You have to play for overtime now, you don't want to force anything here," Madden said. Instead, Brady and Vinatieri decided to become legends. Patriots Nation had no idea that they were at the very beginning of a decades-long ride.
3. Super Bowl XLIX vs. the Seahawks. Brady wasn't even the biggest hero in this game, but he did his job, never lost his cool, and put the Patriots in a position that Malcolm Butler's interception with 20 seconds left iced the game.
4. The Snow Bowl vs. the Raiders. January 19, 2001. In the middle of a merciless Nor'easter, the final game in Foxboro Stadium would be remembered forever. Brady sliced and diced the Raiders with precision through heavy wind and snow, but it appeared that it was just not to be enough. Our hearts broke as the Raiders swatted the ball out of Brady's hands and recovered the fumble. The miracle Cinderella season was over. Or was it? No one had ever heard of the "tuck rule" before that game, but ask any Patriots fan now and they'll be able to give you a detailed description. It was a sign of things to come. The football gods were finally starting to favor the golden boy. It also gave us snow angels at the end of the game.
5. AFC Championship Game vs. the Chiefs. How insane is it that this is FIFTH on the list? The fact that last night's game ranks No. 5 is a testament to the career of Tom Brady and the excitement and joy that his time with the Patriots has brought to New England. If you were writing a fictitious book about the life of the best quarterback to ever live, NO ONE would be bold enough to write the real-life story of Tom Brady. No one would ever believe it. Bear in mind, this list doesn't even include Super Bowl wins against the Panthers or the Eagles. If Brady wins the Super Bowl this season, his GOAT status may eclipse football itself. He is in the conversation about the best team athlete of all time.