Terry Bradshaw Saw Patriots, Tom Brady's Epic Super Bowl LI Comeback Coming
What began as a condolence became a prophecy.
Even the most devout believers in the New England Patriots likely had their faith tested during Super Bowl LI, which saw the Patriots fall behind by a 25-point deficit in the third quarter of their championship showdown against the Atlanta Falcons. Tom Brady was surely capable of plenty, but erasing Atlanta's 28-3 lead seemed to be a little too much to ask for.
Terry Bradshaw didn't see it that way.
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Manning the desk analysis for Fox Sports' Super coverage, Bradshaw claimed to have foreseen Brady's epic erasure coming during a recent appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show." Bradshaw's divination was originally meant to be comforting: the son of longtime broadcast partner and fellow Pro Football Hall of Famer Howie Long was partaking with the Patriots and appeared to be destined for the losing end of a one-sided Super Bowl.
"(The Patriots) were down, what, 28-3, something like that," Bradshaw recalled to Eisen. "I told Howie, 'Hey, it's okay. It's okay. Now they're going to do what they do best and that's throw throw, throw, throw, throw, and that's how they're gonna get back in the game. So stop worrying.'"
To Bradshaw's point, Brady completed nearly 30 passes for 273 yards and two scores after the Patriots fell behind 25 with just over eight minutes to go in the third quarter. His passes paved the way to the largest comeback in Super Bowl history, one completed in overtime when James White punched in the winning six from two yards away.
If anyone stationed at NRG Stadium that night was pulling for the Falcons, it probably should've been Bradshaw.
At the time, Bradshaw, Brady, and Joe Montana were the only quarterbacks in NFL history to prevail in at least four Super Bowls. With the comeback over Atlanta, Brady joined Montana in five-time exclusivity and later left his boyhood idol behind with two more wins after the 2018 and 2020 seasons with New England and Tampa Bay respectively.
The former Pittsburgh Steeler even referred to himself as the "original TB" when talking things over with Eisen, as the four-time club could have a new member soon: with his victory in Super Bowl LVIII earlier this month, Patrick Mahomes took home his third ring in just his sixth season as the Kansas City Chiefs full-time starter.
