Tom Brady’s Super Bowl XLIX performance makes ‘Deflategate’ a moot point
Feb 2, 2015, 10:31 PM | Updated: 10:41 pm
This wasn’t just another Super Bowl. This wasn’t just another Super Bowl trophy for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. This was a Super Bowl that either confirmed or impugned a man’s integrity. Tom Brady had everything to play for and everything to lose; and what seemed unthinkable after another stellar season, Super Bowl XLIX, right or wrong, would be the fires used to forge judgment on Brady’s past, present and future.
Super Bowl XLIX and Tom Brady’s third Super Bowl MVP has turned Ted Wells’ investigation into Deflategate into a moot point. Haters will always hate and homers will always home but for the objective majority of us Brady proved he didn’t need the balls to be deflated in order to play like the Tom Brady we’ve seen. Super Bowl XLIX — with footballs under league scrutiny — has turned into an “innocent” declaration from gridiron jurors all over the world.
Brady was at his best when his team needed him the most and the PSI of the pigskin was never in doubt.
Brady faced the largest deficit he’s ever had in a Super Bowl with 4:48 in the third quarter: The Patriots were down 10 points, 24-14. The table was set for Tom Brady to prove to the world the PSI of the football had nothing to do with his years of success. He threw a TD pass with just under 8 minutes to go in the game to Danny Amendola to make it a 24-21 game. Then he took the ball with the game on the line and orchestrated what became the game-winning drive with 2:02 to go. Suddenly, it was 28-24 New England after Brady executed back-to-back TD drives in the fourth quarter.
He was Tom Brady and because of that performance most of us will give him a pass. Brady made the throws and reconfirmed his greatness under the stiffest pressure one could face. What would people say if he would have thrown another pick on that last possession instead of throwing a TD to Julian Edelman? Tom Brady’s legacy was on the line and all he did was go 37-for-50 for 328 yards and 4 TDs — against the best defense in the league and one of the best in history. Yes, he threw two picks but I believe what Brady did will make everybody but Colts fans forget about Deflategate.
