Patriots: 3 best games from Tom Brady’s first season under center

1. Super Bowl XXXVI

If you were to only look at the stat sheet, you wouldn’t think that Brady delivered an MVP performance in his first career Super Bowl cameo, and understandably so, as he finished 16-of-27 for 145 yards and just one touchdown.

However, for as ineffective as he was for the first 58 minutes of the game, he was every bit as brilliant for the final 1:21 of the fourth quarter. With the game tied at 17, the Patriots ironically took over on their own 17-yard line with zero timeouts. What ensued was what can only be described as career-defining.

FOX color analyst John Madden was imploring New England to play it safe by kneeling the ball and living to fight another drive in overtime. However, Brady and head coach Bill Belichick weren’t of that mindset, as the former executed a picture perfect two-minute drive, taking chances in the middle of the field when the opportunity presented itself while also finding his receivers near the sidelines. He even showed tremendous composure against St. Louis’ bloodthirsty pass rush, avoiding what could have been a handful of sacks.

While Brady didn’t set Vinatieri up with a chip shot, the Pro Bowl kicker made light work of the pressurized 48-yard game-winner, drilling it right down the middle with plenty of room to spare, thus completing the Patriots’ upset over “The Greatest Show on Turf.” With all due respect to Brady’s other games in 2001, none of them compared to his first of six championships.