Patriots gridiron news: Tom Brady has MVP written all over him
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady didn’t have his greatest season statistically, but still proved to be the top clutch performer in the game.
Tom Brady is simply the best. Those who debate that either have pure hatred for everything New England Patriots or simply play blind to what this man does on the football field with the ball in his hand in the final minute of a football game.
Sure, call him a cheater all you want. However, the amount of air pressure in a football had nothing to do with comeback victories this season against the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Resilience, leadership, toughness and everything else that defines an MVP, Tom Brady possesses. Don’t get me wrong, Carson Wentz prior to his season-ending injury and Todd Gurley have had stellar seasons in leading their teams, but what Brady has done at the age of 40 is undeniably pure greatest.
Without one of his more reliable receivers in Julian Edelman and at times Rob Gronkowski, Tom Brady finished the 2017 regular season completing 66.3% of his passes for 4,577 passing yards, 32 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions.
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He has done this despite taking a beating the first half of the season. Still, Brady may not win the Most Valuable Player award because his clutch performances are expected. With his greatness being established back when he was barely 30, TB12 is simply doing what he does.
But, at the age of 40?
The fact that he has led a flawed New England Patriots team to a 13-3 record is incredible…when you think about it. He has MVP written all over him. Not simply because of stats, but what he brings to the game when he is not at his best…ferocity.
The final 2017 Power Rankings have New England at No. 1
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The New England Patriots finished the ESPN 2017 Power Rankings holding the No. 1 ranking.
According to the panel, consisting of over 80 writers, editors and TV personalities, the Patriots had the 10th easiest schedule in 2017. With key victories over the Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons, the team went 6-2 against teams with winning records. Two of those victories came against their AFC East rivals, the Buffalo Bills, who made the playoffs for the first time since 1999.
Rounding out ESPN’s top 5 are the Steelers, Minnesota Vikings, Saints and Los Angeles Rams.
Patriots favorites to win Super Bowl LII
If everything plays out like the odds makers think they will, the New England Patriots will raise the Lombardi Trophy for the second consecutive year.
With the top seed in the AFC, the defending champs are 2-1 favorites to win Super Bowl LII at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas. Despite flaws on both sides of the football, Bill Belichick’s crew recorded another 13-3 record and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
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The next AFC challenger is the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are 9-2. The Minnesota Vikings come in at 4-1 and are the favorites to come out of the NFC. Both the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills have the highest odds, both teams with 100-1 odds to win the big game.