I am a fan of records, streaks, and things that have never been accomplished. One of my favorites is the fact that the NFL MVP hasn’t won a Super Bowl since Kurt Warner did it with the Rams in 1999. You can almost pencil in the winner of the award to lose at some point in the playoffs, even if it’s the Super Bowl. In fact, the MVP is 0-9 in the Super Bowl since Warner won 22 years ago.
Last season, Tom Brady, the greatest QB of all time, did something no one in the history of the NFL had ever done: Brady made the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the first team to ever play a Super Bowl in its home stadium.
Obviously, not all teams can host a Super Bowl, but the fact that a team had never played in a Super Bowl in its home stadium was still pretty cool. There had been some close calls, most recently when the Minnesota Vikings lost in 2017 in the NFC Championship Game, but no one had ever played at home. That was until Brady and the Buccaneers did it last year.
I would also like to point out that it was the first time it was even possible for Brady to accomplish this, since there has never been a Super Bowl in New England. Of course it took a GOAT to do it, and he did it on the first opportunity that he had.
Now, Brady’s former coach looks like he might be in prime position to do something that no one has ever done as well. Like Brady, he would be doing it on the first try.
First, though, I would like to formally apologize to Bill Belichick for what I’m about to say. I’m looking way into the future, and I know he wouldn’t approve of that. One game at a time, yadda yadda yadda.
I just can’t help doing it, so here we go: what I’m talking about is the fact that no head coach has ever reached the Super Bowl with a rookie quarterback starting.
110 teams have played in the Super Bowl thus far, and none of them have ever had a rookie starting under center. Ben Roethlisberger came close back in 2004, but Belichick shut the door on him and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game. Russell Wilson lost in the Divisional Round in 2012, and no one has been close since.
There are obviously a ton of reasons for that. Most teams that start a rookie on Day 1 are usually rebuilding. The New England Patriots, in fairness, are also in the middle of a rebuild.
There is obviously a long way to go, but New England playing the best football of perhaps any team in the league right now, and the team is doing it with a rookie under center. These next three games are going to show quite a bit of who this team is, but, right now, the Patriots look built to go deep into the playoffs.
There has been a lot of discussion about who is more responsible for the Patriots dynasty, and many people jumped onto the Brady bandwagon last season after his Super Bowl win. Belichick getting to the big dance without Brady this season would show everyone what they should have known all along: that it was both Brady and Belichick, and that they have both helped each other becoming the best to ever do it.
Now, just imagine if they both get there this year... I don’t even want to think about the hype surrounding that game, so I will leave that discussion for another day.
Pat is a host of The Patriot Nation Podcast. Interact with him on Twitter @plane_pats.
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