In the latest episode of ‘Man in the Arena,’ Tom Brady recalled his Super Bowl LI campaign, 2016. That season was not easy for the quarterback for a number of reasons. The main one was his mother’s diagnosis of cancer. Brady had a lot on the line that season, and he had to go full throttle to prove how tough of a quarterback he really is.

Brady had already started off the season with a four-game suspension due to the Deflategate controversy. Later on, the quarterback recalled that it was personally difficult for him to deal with all the criticism and his mother’s ailment at the same time. However, he still managed to lead the New England Patriots to a Super Bowl. An achievement that always makes him proud.

Brady created a legacy worth documenting

The Super Bowl game was no piece of cake for the quarterback. The Patriots were trailing the Atlanta Falcons by 28-3 at the start of the second half, and they had a long way to go to prove their mettle in the gridiron. The 44-year-old also recalled that on his way to a smooth comeback, he took a concussive hit on his head with just three minutes left on the game.

It was a make-or-break situation for the quarterback. He could either submit to fate or fight against it to mark his period of dominance in the history of the NFL, which will resonate forever. Brady chose the latter.

Read more: Tom Brady Opens up on His Deflategate Suspension: ‘It Was the First September That I’d Had off Since My Eighth-Grade Year’

“First down was incomplete,” Brady said. “Second down I took that hit. And Derek came up like ‘Tom you okay?’ And I said, ‘Yea I’m good, I’m good.’ I took a good clean hit, and I wanted to fight through it. I know it was for taking me out of the Super Bowl with three minutes left in the game. I would say from that point on it was basically autopilot.”

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Tom Brady played the Super Bowl 51 subconsciously

Brady played the final few minutes of the game in a subconscious state. He completely relied on his muscle memory to reach his targets. At first, he completed just one of three passes. But then he started to get the hang of it and hurled for 11 consecutive passes for 126 yards, one TD, and a two-point conversion. “It just tells you how amazing the body is,” he continued. “A lot of muscle memory kicks in, a lot of subconscious thought.” 

That game redefined Brady‘s dominance in the league as the greatest quarterback of all time. Even after going through so much pain, suffering and criticism. The quarterback proved that he needed no deflated footballs to win Super Bowls.

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