Patriots Falcons Super Bowl Football

New England Patriots' Tom Brady runs on to the field before the NFL Super Bowl 51 football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, in Houston. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

(Jae C. Hong)

HOUSTON -- Before we knew what Tom Brady was going to become -- a five-time Super Bowl champion, four-time Super Bowl MVP and owner of countless NFL records -- John Madden thought he should play for overtime in the Super Bowl.

"You have to just run the clock out," Madden said. "You have to play for overtime now."

It was Brady's first Super Bowl, and there was only a minute and 21 seconds left on the clock for the second-year quarterback to march his team down the field and score against the St. Louis Rams. Sure enough, that's exactly what he did, setting up an Adam Vinatieri game-winning field goal.

Imagine what Madden would have said when the Patriots trailed 28-3 early in the third quarter Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. Playing for overtime would've taken on a whole new meaning. Even for someone who has led game-winning drives in three of his four Super Bowl wins, a 25-point deficit in the second half should have been enough to hold Brady off.

It wasn't.

With the offense completely in Brady's control, he marched the team down the field for five straight scoring drives. He finished the game with a Super Bowl record 466 passing yards on 62 attempts to bring his team back from the dead into the history books for his fifth career Super Bowl title. This was Brady's finest hour, and it was about more than just his incredible statistics.

Somehow, at age 39, Brady still found a way to surprise us with his greatness. The passes that seemed to be off the mark in the first half were like darts hitting a bullseye in the second half. He played with the poise of someone who had been there before, and the determination of someone who had been personally wronged.

Well, actually, perhaps he was playing with that kind of motivation. Brady never fully admitted to being motivated by the four-game suspension he received from Roger Goodell, but he did make a small dig at Goodell in his latest Shields MRI commercial. In the end, Brady got his moment on stage taking a trophy from Goodell, just like everyone wanted.

It's also worth considering the emotions going through Brady's head in a game of that magnitude. Robert Kraft revealed that Brady's mother has been undergoing chemotherapy, which led to her almost not being able to make the Super Bowl after missing all of he son's games up to that point. With her in the crowd, who could blame Brady for having his mind elsewhere in the game?

As the game wound down, Brady was back to his usual laser-focused self. "Calm and cool, just like he always is," running back Dion Lewis said after the game.

The same "calm and cool" kid we saw win a Super Bowl on Feb. 3, 2002 grew up to be a calm and cool 39-year-old man winning a Super Bowl just over 15 years later. The only difference was the added degree of difficulty.

A 25-point comeback was not just unheard of for a Super Bowl -- it was unheard of in any Patriots game in history. The next biggest comeback was a 24-point comeback against the Denver Broncos in 2013, when Brady led the Patriots to a 34-31 win. After that, the next biggest comeback was back in 1984.

The comeback topped the previous record for largest comeback in a Super Bowl by a wide margin. The previous record was a 10-point comeback -- a feat the accomplished three times. One of those was orchestrated by Brady himself against the Seattle Seahawks' juggernaut defense in 2014. While Brady's first three Super Bowls helped define him as an all-time great, Brady's greatest Super Bowl moments have come in his most recent two chances. Just look at his numbers in each of the fourth quarters.

Tom Brady in 4th Q of Super Bowl XLIX vs. Seattle: 13-15, 124 yards, 2 TDs



4th Q/OT tonight: 21-27, 246 yards, 1 TD — Kevin Duffy (@KevinRDuffy) February 6, 2017

The numbers are comparable. Brady doubled his touchdown pass total in 2014, while nearly doubling his yardage total in 2016. The Patriots as a team scored more in 2016, however, adding two 2-point conversions and a field goal just to get his team into overtime.

The sheer size of the Patriots' comeback makes Brady's performance better, however. Plus, it was about more than just the comeback. It was about proving he could still dominate the game, even at 39 years old. It was about sticking it to those who called him a cheater during his four-game suspension. It was about playing in front of his family, which was all there to watch him win.

"What Tom Brady just did gives me goosebumps," Madden said in the closing seconds of Brady's first Super Bowl win.

Little did he know that for Brady, the best was still to come.