On Sunday evening, Tom Brady cemented his legend as the greatest of all-time.
The Patriots quarterback brought New England all the way back from a second-half 25-point deficit, leading New England to an improbable 34-28 overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI.
Leader of the largest comeback in Super Bowl history, Brady was named the game's Most Valuable Player once again, his fourth such honor. With the win, Brady is the winningest quarterback in Super Bowl history with five championships, breaking his boyhood hero Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw's record.
Brady bounced back from a poor first half, during which he threw his first postseason pick-six, to lead New England on four second-half scoring drives, including two TD marches in the fourth quarter.
Explaining the methodical comeback after the game, Brady was at a loss for words.
"I wasn't thinking much," the Super Bowl MVP said. "I was thinking, We just got to score. And then, we scored the touchdown, it was nine. And then, we get the turnover.
"There was a lot of s--- that happened tonight. I got hit pretty hard."
After the Patriots won the overtime coin toss, Brady led a game-winning, eight-play drive, capped by a two-yard James White score. The assured march to glory was Brady's fifth game-winning drive in five Super Bowl wins.
To boot, the Patriots legend set Super Bowl records with 466 passing yards, 43 completions and 62 attempts.
Of Brady's five Super Bowl victories and four MVP performances, you would be hard-pressed to argue any was more important or significant than this one.
Brady was suspended four games by the NFL last year after a league-commissioned investigation found it was "more probable than not" that he was "generally aware" of team staff deflating footballs prior to the 2014 AFC Championship Game. Brady put up a career-best TD-INT ratio and lost just one game on the year, a midseason home defeat to the Seahawks.
The stakes of Brady's amazing 2016 season were amplified even more during Super Bowl week when he divulged that his mother had been battling an illness and that his father hadn't been to a game all season.
Brady said ahead of Sunday's magical night that he was dedicating this Super Bowl to his mother. After the victory, an emotional Brady let the season, the strife, everything all out.
"They're all happy," Brady told FOX's Terry Bradshaw during the on-field celebration after the game. "It's nice to have everybody here and it's going to be a great celebration tonight.
"Thank you to all our fans. Everyone back in Boston, New England, we love you. You've been with us all year. We're bringing this sucker home!"
*Be sure to catch Brady and Bill Belichick live from Houston on Monday morning at 9:30 a.m. ET on NFL Network. *
Don't miss: Live coverage of the Patriots' Super Bowl LI victory parade starts at 10 a.m. ET Tuesday on NFL Network.
