Tom Brady: Ranking all 10 of the GOAT’s Super Bowl appearances
By Peter Panacy
No. 7: Tom Brady, Patriots stun Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI
Everyone remembers their first.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was the St. Louis Rams and not the Patriots who were looking to become the NFL’s next great dynasty. Two seasons removed from winning it all in Super Bowl XXXIV, the Rams were heavily favored to beat Tom Brady, who had only been named the Pats’ starter earlier that season.
And despite Brady’s rapid ascent his second season in the NFL, he was still carrying that mantra of being the No. 199 overall pick from the 2000 NFL Draft. On the flip side, St. Louis was rolling out a future Hall of Fame quarterback, Kurt Warner, who was the league’s MVP that season.
In what ended being a Super Bowl-classic back-and-forth game, the Patriots eventually pulled off the 20-17 victory thanks to a game-winning 48-yard field goal from kicker Adam Vinatieri as time expired:
That’s become one of the more iconic images from the absolute beginning of New England’s dynasty.
Meanwhile, Brady was good enough, going 16-of-27 for 145 yards and a touchdown en route to being named the game’s MVP despite Warner tossing for over 360 yards with two touchdowns, one through the air and another on the ground.
At the time, it seemed little more than an improbable win for Brady and the Pats. Little did fans know it was only a sign of things to come.