Written Spring 2021 in Advanced Sportswriting with Zak Keefer
(Image Credit: AP/Ben Liebenberg)
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Last night’s Super Bowl was the best comeback of Tom Brady’s career.
Maybe a surprising label to put on a 31-9 Super Bowl blowout, but no less true.
Despite the fact that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took the lead over the Kansas City Chiefs in the first half, then never relinquished it, this night – and this accomplishment – was truly a testament to Brady’s enduring leadership.
A few midseason stumbles, combined with two lopsided losses to their divisional rival, New Orleans, had people doubting the wild card Bucs heading into the postseason.
But realistically, every NFL team deals with stumbles and doubts like those.
What made this Tampa triumph a true comeback story was the way this roster featured so many characters who had been seeking personal redemption or vindication.
Brady was the unifying leader needed for it all to come fruition.
“From the moment he stepped in the locker room you could feel that winning pedigree,” veteran linebacker Lavonte David told Good Morning America.
Two of those redemption-seeking Bucs found the endzone Sunday. Leonard Fournette and Antonio Brown were two moves Tampa’s front office made after Brady’s arrival and input.
Fournette was cut by the Jaguars after failing to garner trade interest this past offseason. He told Luke Easterling of USA Today that Brady was the first guy to reach out to him after getting cut.
Just days later, Fournette signed with Tampa but struggled in the new offense and was forced to battle for carries with teammate Ronald Jones all season. In the playoffs, Fournette started to establish a rhythm though and turned in arguably his best performance of the season against the Chiefs, gaining 135 all-purpose yards and scoring a touchdown.
A performance Brady assured Fournette was possible all week.
“Tom preached all week that they were 31st in the league in yards after carry,” Fournette told the Tampa Bay Times “…their run defense wasn’t that good. I take pride in that, knowing those guys don’t want to tackle.”
Like Fournette, Antonio Brown would not have ended up in Tampa without Brady’s presence either. But unlike Fournette, the oft-maligned Brown basically led his own media circus over the past three seasons, and nearly got himself exiled from the league. Yet, Brown found refuge, not just in Tampa but also, in Brady’s friendship, and literally his residence, saying post-game that Brady’s belief in him was there since “day one.”
Fittingly, on Sunday, just before half, Brady entrusted in his fastest roommate, Brown, threading a tight window to hit Brown posted up on a short inside zig that helped balloon Tampa’s lead to 15 going into half.
The litany of comeback aspirations that Brady helped realize were not solely constrained to the playing field. The Bucs coaching staff showcased just as many cases of long-deserved triumph.
Head coach Bruce Arians, now the oldest to ever win a Super Bowl, was let go from the Steelers staff in 2012 after two rings there as an assistant.
Just three years ago, he seemed happily retired from coaching. But he returned in attempt to repair Jameis Winston’s interception tendencies. Arians failed to do so, Winston threw 30 picks in 2019 and was let go in the offseason by Tampa Bay, leaving Arians without a QB.
Within months, Brady moved south to Tampa to play with Arians. Despite a tough adjustment period early on, Brady struck a balance with Arians and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich by the latter-half of the season and silenced some early season critics.
“Knowing that he’d been there and done this, our guys believed it,” Arians said. “It changed our entire football team.”
And Sunday night, Arian’s sentiment manifested itself in front of all of America. While the offense’s nearly flawless first half, featuring two touchdown catches by Arians’ fellow ex-retiree Rob Gronkowski, certainly played a role in the victory. It was the other side of the ball that truly changed the game.
Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles’ secondary absolutely shut down superstars Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill while the front seven not only stymied the run game but pressured former MVP, Patrick Mahomes, an astounding 38 times.
It was total team performance and having Brady on the field under center was important. But even more influential was simply Brady’s presence as human in the locker room. A place where his unmatched competitive fire, discipline and positivity hand-delivered a Buccaneers triumph Sunday night.
“You could feel it. You could honestly feel the change in the growth, the locker-room feel throughout the year,” said linebacker Shaq Barrett “That’s why we’re leaving with a Lombardi Trophy.”
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