BY JENNIFER ROBACK | MANAGING EDITOR
Tom Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to their second Super Bowl win in franchise history Sunday by defeating the former Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs 31-9. The 43-year-old quarterback is now a seven-time Super Bowl champion.
The Buccaneers finished the regular season with a 11-5 record and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2007. Back in 2003 the Bucs won their first and only Super Bowl prior to Sunday.
Brady, who many refer to as the “G.O.A.T.” or greatest of all time, won his fifth Super Bowl MVP, propelling the team to the historic win. Along with being the oldest starting quarterback in the NFL to win a Super Bowl, Brady joins Peyton Manning on the short list of quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl playing for multiple franchises.
The former New England Patriots quarterback signed a two-year $50 million contract with Tampa Bay back in March following the end of his contract with the Patriots. “Excited, humble and hungry ...if there is one thing I have learned about football, it’s that nobody cares what you did last year or the year before that...you earn the trust and respect of those around through your commitment every single day,” Brady wrote in an Instagram post after signing his contract. "I’m starting a new football journey and thankful for the Buccaneers for giving me an opportunity to do what I love to do."
In Sunday’s game against the Chiefs, Brady threw three touchdowns to help secure the win, two of them being to his former Patriots teammate Rob Gronkowski, a former Patriot who came out of retirement to join Brady in Tampa Bay this season. Even the official New England Patriots account posted a congratulatory tweet Sunday night for Brady and Gronkowski, tweeting, “Congratulations to the greatest of all time.” Following up with, “And Gronk, be careful with that trophy…”
“I’m so proud of all these guys out here, everything we dealt with all year, we had a rough month of November, but we had all the confidence in us, the team had the confidence, we came together at the right time and we knew this was going to happen,” Brady said in an interview following the game and being named the game MVP, his fifth time throughout his career.
The Chiefs put tremendous pressure on the rising star quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. This was the first game that the Chiefs were held without a touchdown and it was Mahomes’ first loss by double-digits. The Chiefs were flagged eight times in the first 30 minutes for 95 yards.
The Bucs stole the show during the first half of the game. They led in first downs 18-9, total plays 35-30, and total yards 194-124.
When the 65-year-old Bucs head coach Bruce Arians was asked if this was the end of his coaching career, his reply was, “Hell no. I ain’t going anywhere. I’m coming back to try and get two and we’ll see after that.” It was the the first Super Bowl win for Arians as a head coach. When the 65-year-old Bucs head coach Bruce Arians was asked if this was the end of his coaching career, his reply was, “Hell no. I ain’t going anywhere. I’m coming back to try and get two and we’ll see after that.” It was the the first Super Bowl win for Arians as a head coach.
Brady wasn’t the only Bucs player to shine during the game. The defense was led by Antoine Winfield Jr, who had a big interception, and linebacker Devin White, who had an interception and led the team with 12 tackles, eight solo and two for a loss.
“I’m not making any comparisons [to prior achievements] --- every year is amazing, this team is world champions forever and you can’t take it away from us,” Brady said.