Tom Brady is back in the Super Bowl? Wow, what a shocker!
With another Super Bowl berth this year, the Buccaneers quarterback has now reached the big game in 10 of his 21 NFL seasons. Brady wasn’t the starter during his first professional campaign and tore his ACL in Week 1 of the 2008 season, so he’s basically shooting over 50 percent for his career.
As a member of the Patriots, the 43-year-old won six Super Bowl rings, the most of any player in NFL history. He also holds multiple Super Bowl records that may never be touched — and he’s only going to add to them on Sunday.
Before Brady and the Bucs battle Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in Super Bowl 55, let’s take a look back at the GOAT’s incredible Super Bowl resume.
Brady’s stats: 16-for-27 passing, 145 yards, one TD, zero INTs, 86.2 rating (Super Bowl MVP)
In his first Super Bowl appearance, Brady helped the Patriots pull off the upset against the Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf.” With no timeouts remaining and less than two minutes on the clock, Brady led New England down the field, setting up Adam Vinatieri’s game-winning 48-yard field goal.
Not a bad debut, huh?
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Super Bowl 38: Patriots 32, Panthers 29
Brady’s stats: 32-for-48 passing, 354 yards, three TDs, one INT, 100.5 rating (Super Bowl MVP)
The script was slightly different, but Brady enjoyed a similar ending in his second trip to the Super Bowl. With the game tied 29-29, Brady did a one-minute drill to put Vinatieri in position for another buzzer-beater.
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Super Bowl 39: Patriots 24, Eagles 21
Brady’s stats: 23-for-33 passing, 236 yards, two TDs, zero INTs, 110.2 rating
Three for three. Brady outdueled Donovan McNabb, whose final desperation heave was picked off by Rodney Harrison to seal a Patriots victory. New England wide receiver Deion Branch earned MVP honors after catching 11 passes from Brady for 133 yards.
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Super Bowl 42: Giants 17, Patriots 14
Brady’s stats: 29-for-48 passing, 266 yards, one TD, zero INTs, 82.5 rating
Look away, Patriots fans.
Brady’s first Super Bowl loss was his most painful. The Pats entered the contest hoping to put the finishing touches on a perfect season, but New York’s defense pressured Brady all game long, sacking him five times and limiting New England to just 14 points. On the Giants’ last offensive drive, Eli Manning connected with David Tyree on the “Helmet Catch” and then found Plaxico Burress in the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.
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Super Bowl 46: Giants 21, Patriots 17
Brady’s stats: 27-for-41 passing, 276 yards, two TDs, one INT, 91.1 rating
As Yogi Berra once said, “It’s like deja vu all over again.”
New England captured a 17-9 lead in the second half, but New York responded with 12 unanswered points to jump ahead late in the fourth quarter. Brady guided the Patriots to midfield on the team’s final drive, giving New England a Hail Mary opportunity. Unfortunately for the Pats, Rob Gronkowski couldn’t snag the falling football.
Manning 2, Brady 0. Who saw that coming?
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Super Bowl 49: Patriots 28, Seahawks 24
Brady’s stats: 37-for-50 passing, 328 yards, four TDs, two INTs, 101.1 rating (Super Bowl MVP)
Brady bounced back after two Super Bowl losses, throwing for 300-plus yards and four scores on his way to his third MVP award. However, this game was remembered not for what Brady did, but rather for what the Seahawks didn’t do.
Down by four points with the ball on the New England 1 and only seconds remaining, Seattle elected to pass instead of handing off to Marshawn Lynch. Russell Wilson was then picked off by Malcolm Butler, securing a victory for the Patriots and leaving Seahawks supporters furious.
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Super Bowl 51: Patriots 34, Falcons 28 (OT)
Brady’s stats: 43-for-62 passing, 466 yards, two TDs, one INT, 95.2 rating (Super Bowl MVP)
So many 28-3 jokes. SO MANY.
With 8:31 on the clock in the third quarter, Atlanta took that now-infamous 25-point lead. The Pats then stormed back to win in overtime behind a stellar performance by Brady, who added Super Bowl MVP No. 4 to his trophy room. Never count out “Touchdown Tom.”
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Super Bowl 52: Eagles 41, Patriots 33
Brady’s stats: 28-for-48 passing, 505 yards, three TDs, zero INTs, 115.4 rating
Despite finishing with the best Super Bowl stat line of his career, Brady walked off the field disappointed following the conclusion of this game. He could have used a few stops from his defense, which struggled to contain . . . Nick Foles?
Yes, the Eagles QB played the game of his life, throwing for 373 yards and three touchdowns and catching a TD pass on his way to being named Super Bowl MVP.
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Super Bowl 53: Patriots 13, Rams 3
Brady’s stats: 21-for-35 passing, 262 yards, zero TDs, one INT, 71.4 rating
Oof, just an ugly game.
Both the Patriots and the Rams struggled to score, but New England did enough to emerge victorious. This marked Brady’s only Super Bowl appearance without a touchdown pass, though he didn’t seem to care much as he solidified his GOAT status with a record sixth Super Bowl ring.
NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.
Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.
The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.
Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.
The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.
O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.
After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
NEW YORK – Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart was named NHL first star of the week on Monday after leading all players with nine points over four games last week.
Reinhart had four goals, five assists and a plus-seven rating to help the Stanley Cup champions post a 3-0-1 record on the week and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.
New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin took the second star and Minnesota Wild goaltenderFilip Gustavsson was the third star.
Panarin had eight points (4-4) over three games.
Gustavsson became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and had a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage over a pair of victories.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.
He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.
Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.
The team feared Watson’s year was over and tests done Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year after just six starts.
The 29-year-old went down Sunday without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson crumpled to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
He immediately put his hands on his helmet, clearly aware of the severity of an injury similar to the one Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained last year.
As he was being assisted by the team’s medical staff and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson grabbed a ball to begin warming up, there was some derisive cheers and boos from the stands in Huntington Bank Field.
Cleveland fans have been split over Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.
The reaction didn’t sit well with several Watson’s teammates, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was appalled by the fans’ behavior.
“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. To be season-altering, career-altering injury,” Garrett said. “Man’s not perfect. He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones for my glass house.
“Ultimately everyone’s human and they’re disappointed just like we are, but we have to be better than that as people. There’s levels to this. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and you don’t boo anybody being injured and you don’t celebrate anyone’s downfall.”
Backup quarterback Jameis Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration.
“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day,” he said. “The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he’s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.
“I know you love this game. When I first got here, I knew these were some amazing fans, but Deshaun was treated badly and now he has to overcome another obstacle. So I’m going to support him, I’m going to lift him up and I’m going to be there for him.”
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns.
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to Houston in 2022 to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract.
With a solid roster, the Browns were desperate to find a QB who could help them compete against the top AFC teams.
The Browns had moved on from Baker Mayfield despite drafting him No. 1 overall in 2018 and making the playoffs two seasons later.
But Watson has not played up to expectations — fans have been pushing for him to be benched this season — and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labeled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46 million in each of the next two seasons.
Watson’s arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions while he played for the Texans. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns. The long layoff — he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute — led to struggles once he got on the field, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs.
Before Watson got hurt this year, he didn’t play much better. He was one of the league’s lowest-rated passers for a Cleveland team that hasn’t scored 20 points in a game and is back in search of a franchise QB.
