Tom Brady says Super Bowl comeback not his best game

Tom Brady set several records as he rallied the New England Patriots to an unthinkable Super Bowl win but on Monday the quarterback said his play in the NFL's title game was far from the greatest of his stellar career.

Brady authored the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history when he shook off an uncharacteristically sluggish start to lead his team back from a 25-point deficit and secure a thrilling 34-28 overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons.

"I don't really think that is necessarily the case," Brady, 39, told TheMMQB when asked if that game marked the finest work of his Hall of Fame career.

  
Early in the game Brady missed some routine throws, seemed rattled by the pressure Atlanta were putting on him and threw an interception that was returned 82 yards for a touchdown that left New England trailing 21-0 late in the second quarter.

But Brady responded with an epic second half and by the end of the game had delivered a performance for the ages as he set a slew of Super Bowl records, including most completions (43) and most yards passing (466) while collecting Super Bowl most valuable player honors for an unprecedented fourth time.

Prior to leading the Patriots back from a 28-3 third-quarter deficit and earning a quarterback-record fifth Super Bowl title, the largest ever deficit overturned in a Super Bowl was from 10 points, three different times.

"It was one of the greatest games I have ever played in, but when I think of an interception return for a touchdown, some other missed opportunities in the first 37, 38 minutes of the game, I don't really consider playing a good quarter-and-a-half plus overtime as one of the 'best games ever.'" said Brady.

"But it was certainly one of the most thrilling for me, just because so much was on the line, and it ended up being an incredible game."

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Steve Keating)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Despite overtime finish, Super Bowl draws lower TV ratings

Fox Television's broadcast of Super Bowl LI on Sunday night drew 111.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen data released by the network on Monday, the smallest audience for the National Football League's title game in four years.

The contest included a thrilling finish, with the New England Patriots staging a comeback to defeat the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football league's first-ever Super Bowl overtime. The Patriots returned from a 25-point deficit and quarterback Tom Brady, 39, won his record fifth championship.

The Falcons were in control for much of the game, with a 28-3 lead midway through the third quarter. Viewership surged as the Patriots' pushed the game into overtime, peaking at 117.7 million from 10 p.m. to 10:15 p.m ET (0300-0315 GMT).

Without the Patriots' rally, ratings would've been even worse for Fox, which still posted the least-viewed Super Bowl since 2013, when 108.7 million watched the Baltimore Ravens defeat the San Francisco 49ers.

Lady Gaga's halftime show drew 117.5 million viewers.

Last year's Super Bowl drew a 111.9 million viewers to CBS Corp's CBS, while the Patriots' previous title game appearance in 2015 helped Comcast Corp's NBC television draw 114.4 million viewers, the most-watched TV broadcast in U.S. history.

Despite the lower viewership, the brief overtime, in which the Patriots scored a touchdown in their first possession, allowed Fox to add four more commercials. It is not clear how many more ad dollars Fox was able to get; the network was charging $5 million for 30-seconds of airtime during the game. Fox brought in an estimated $509.6 million in ad revenue for the broadcast, according to research firm iSpot.TV.

Advertising took up 23 percent of the broadcast, with 51 minutes and 30 seconds of commercials. That made it the second-most ad-cluttered Super Bowl game, according to ad-tracking firm Kantar Media.

The four-year viewership low comes on the heels of a disappointing NFL season that saw ratings decline 9 percent and another 6 percent through the playoffs leading up to the Super Bowl. The NFL's four U.S. TV partners, Fox, NBC, CBS and Walt Disney Co's ESPN, are collectively paying $5.4 billion per year under their current media rights contracts.

Much of the ratings decline during the season was blamed on the contentious U.S. presidential election drawing interest away, as well as the lackluster quality of play early in the season. Prior to the Nov. 8 election, ratings were down 12 percent, but were only off by 5 percent after, according to analysis by MoffettNathanson.

(Reporting by Tim Baysinger; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Alan Crosby)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Super Bowl ads caught in political whirlwind

WASHINGTON - The ads appearing during the Super Bowl on Sunday weren't supposed to be political -- but some brands wanted to make a statement, and others may have been just caught in the crossfire.

In the biggest US sporting event of the year which is also a huge event for marketing, political overtones were part of the story, intended or not.

The Super Bowl was played amid a heated debate following President Donald Trump's order to block all refugees and travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations, and a clash of views over open borders and multiculturalism.

Some companies may have been swept up in the desire to make a statement of principle. But marketing professor Larry Chiagouris of Pace University said it was a risky strategy.

"The people who buy these products come from all political persuasions," he said. "No brand can afford to alienate any of them."

Northwestern University marketing professor Tim Calkins said some of the ads aimed to show a theme of "inclusiveness."

"While many brands were lighthearted and product focused, there were others that embraced a theme of inclusiveness, including Google, Airbnb and Budweiser," said Calkins, who is co-director of the school's ad rating project.

Some notable spots:

Airbnb

The home-sharing giant injected a surprise political message into a television spot, highlighting multiculturalism and the hashtag #WeAccept.

The 30-second Airbnb spot showed a series of faces of people from different races, genders and ages with a running line of text saying "No matter who you are, where you're from, who you love or who you worship, we all belong."

On Twitter, Airbnb founder and chief executive Brian Chesky also announced the group would donate $4 million over four years to the International Rescue Committee to assist refugees.

It provoked considerable reaction on Twitter, both positive and negative.

Budweiser immigration story
Budweiser, the US beer brand from Anheuser-Busch InBev, told the story of the journey of founder Adolphus Busch, a German immigrant.

While the company had said it did not intend to make a political statement, the ad nonetheless drew praise from critics of Trump's immigration plan, but also calls for a boycott.

84 Lumber journey
A spot from home improvement retailer 84 Lumber showed the journey of a mother and daughter who appeared to be traveling in the Mexican desert seeking to reach the United States, and invited viewers to watch the full ad online.

On YouTube, the five-minute film described as "too controversial for TV" showed the pair arriving at a large wall, unable to cross.

At the end of the spot, viewers saw the message "The will to succeed is always welcome here."

The retailer had to revise its spot for television after it was rejected for being overtly political.

Winners and losers

According to analysis of social media activity by iSpotTV, the Budweiser immigration ad had the most impact, followed by a Netflix ad for its "Stranger Things" series, a spot with a sexy Mr. Clean, and a whimsical Justin Bieber ad for T-Mobile.

Coca-Cola's ad featuring "America the Beautiful" sung in different languages and featuring images of people of various ages and cultures was among those generating the most "positive tweets," according to the TD America Ad Challenge.

A ranking by Northwestern University marketing students put at the top a spot in which a female homemaker drools over a muscle-bound Mr. Clean.

"Mr. Clean drew on its brand equity, making its position clear in a modern way," said professor Derek Rucker.

"Conversely, 84 Lumber scored at the bottom of our ad review. This spot took a long time to get to the message -- and even then, it wasn't clear what the message actually was."

Michigan State University marketing students rated as the best ad a message from Honda with several celebrities speaking from their school yearbook photos.

The worst was from the American Petroleum Institute, said professor Robert Kolt: "No one wants to hear about big oil during the game."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Pats' Brady named Super Bowl MVP after record comeback

HOUSTON -- New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was named the Most Valuable Player of the Super Bowl on Sunday after leading his team on a record comeback over the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League championship game.

Brady, a five-times Super Bowl winner and four-times MVP of the championship game, completed 43 of 62 passes for 466 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the 34-28 overtime victory, the first Super Bowl decided in extra time.

The 39-year-old Brady set Super Bowl records for completions and yards gained passing as he directed the Patriots on a monumental comeback from a 28-3 third-quarter hole -- the largest deficit ever overcome in a Super Bowl.

"We all brought each other back. We never felt out of it. It was a tough battle," Brady said on the field after James White plunged past the goal line for the winning touchdown.

"They (Atlanta) have a great team, I give them a lot of credit. We just made a few more plays than them."


Asked whether his fifth Super Bowl title was the best, Brady replied: "They're all great. This team resembled a lot of teams from the past that had a lot of mental toughness, great defense. Everyone rose to the occasion in the second half and overtime."

Brady, who was suspended for the first four games of the regular season over his role in the AFC title game controversy over under-inflated balls two seasons ago despite fighting the punishment in court, was asked if this was redemption.

"This is all positive, man. This is unbelievable."

Brady was surrounded by his wife, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, their kids and his father and mother, who has been battling illness the last 18 months.

"They're all happy," Brady said about having his family with him. "It's nice to have everybody here. It's going to be a great celebration tonight."

Brady then shouted out to the Patriots fans as he brandished the Lombardi Trophy: "Thank you to all our fans. Everyone back in Boston, New England, we love you. You've been with us all year. We're bringing this sucker home!"

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Falcons star Ryan on Super Bowl loss: 'Nothing you can say'

HOUSTON -- Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan admitted his team were struggling to come to terms with their shattering Super Bowl loss on Sunday after the New England Patriots' remarkable comeback victory.

The Falcons appeared to be surging to their first Super Bowl win after leading 28-3, only to see New England roar back to triumph, 34-28, in overtime.

"There's nothing you can really say," said a dejected Ryan. "That's a tough loss.

"Obviously very disappointed, very close to getting done what we wanted to get done, but it's hard to find words tonight."

Falcons head coach Dan Quinn summed up the mood: "For sure hurts like hell."


It was the second time in two years Quinn has tasted an agonizing Super Bowl defeat to the Patriots. He was an assistant coach for the Seattle Seahawks when the Patriots snatched a dramatic late win in 2015.

Quinn admitted the Falcons would struggle to deal with Sunday's loss.

"No doubt that was a tough one for us," Quinn said. "That's a hard one in the locker room. No one place to put that mentally for us.

"But I'm proud of the fight that these guys have," added Quinn, admitting that his team "ran out of gas some" in the second half.

"I think at the end, when we go back and watch it tomorrow, for sure, there were things that we could have done different or played differently.

"I was impressed with how hard the guys fought and battled for it. That's why we're hurting so bad right now."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Patriots complete comeback to stun Falcons, win Super Bowl

HOUSTON --  Tom Brady inspired the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history as the New England Patriots stunned the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime here Sunday.

Brady became the first quarterback in history to win five Super Bowls after the Patriots overturned a 28-3 third quarter deficit to snatch a sensational victory at Houston's NRG Stadium.

Brady, 39, collapsed to the turf with emotion after James White burrowed over from close range to score the winning touchdown on the opening drive of overtime.

It completed an incredible comeback for the Patriots, who had looked dead and buried after the Falcons scored three first half touchdowns and an early score in the third quarter to power 25 points clear.

No team had ever come back from more than 10 points to win the Super Bowl before, and the Patriots looked to be heading for a crushing defeat as the Falcons ran riot.

But Brady, who had looked a pale imitation of himself for much of the game, suddenly fired into life in the second half to produce a performance that will go into National Football League folklore.

The Falcons, who had gone into the game boasting one of the most potent offenses in history, were left distraught and still waiting for their first ever Super Bowl.

They had appeared to be roaring to the championship with quarterback Matt Ryan pulling apart the Patriots in the first half.

- Falcons dominant -

The Falcons scored touchdowns through Devonta Freeman and Austin Hooper before Robert Alford picked off Brady for an 82-yard interception score.

The Patriots could only muster a Stephen Gostkowski field goal to go into half-time 21-3 down.

A shellshocked Brady looked bereft after his interception blunder and it got worse for the Patriots early in the third quarter.

The misfiring Patriots offense again squandered their next possession and Atlanta were back on the charge, powering forward with a nine-play drive that ended with Ryan lobbing a six-yard pass to Tevin Coleman for a touchdown.

New England grabbed what looked like a consolation score when Brady found running back White to make it 28-9.

But Gostkowski missed the extra point afterwards, and it seemed as if all Atlanta had to do was ride out the clock.

But a further Gostkowski field goal made it 28-12 and when Brady hit Danny Amendola for a six-yard touchdown, with a successful two-point conversion to follow, it had suddenly become a one-score game.

Now the Falcons were flustered and a crucial drive faltered and the Patriots won the ball back.

Brady marched his team upfield and White scampered in from one yard to make it 28-26. Another two-point conversion followed to make it 28-28 and take the game to overtime for the first time in history.

The Patriots won the toss and elected to receive and with momentum clearly on their side, there was only going to be one outcome.

Brady, just as he had done in his first Super Bowl victory in 2002, nervelessly led his team upfield and soon they were camped on the Atlanta line.

It was left to White to score his third touchdown of the night to clinch an amazing victory.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Calm before the Super Bowl storm for Patriots, Falcons

HOUSTON -- The New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons enjoyed an easy day ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl, paying separate visits to NRG Stadium on Saturday to get acclimated with the site of the title game.

Both teams wrapped up their final on-field practices on Friday in good health and optimistic about their chances of lifting the Lombardi Trophy as National Football League champions.

The Patriots held a final 90-minute session at the University of Houston, running drills at half-speed without shells or shoulder pads under their jerseys.

"We're ready to go," declared Patriots coach Bill Belichick, according to the pool report. "We've covered everything. We'll finish off our meetings and stuff, but we're done on the field."

The Patriots planned to walk around the NRG Stadium field to get used to the surroundings and take a team picture.

Belichick said the Patriots hoped to put a stop to the high-scoring Atlanta Falcons' streak of touchdowns on their first possession in eight successive games.

"They are a fast-starting team, offensively," Belichick said. "So we've got to do a good job of making sure we know what we're doing."

Quarterback Tom Brady had a typically sharp week of preparation, the coach said.

"He's been in these games and big games before. Each week is different, every defense is different, our plays are different, based on what the defenses are. He had a good week," said Belichick.

Brady, going after a record fifth crown among quarterbacks just as Belichick can register a record fifth title as a coach, has been emotional this week talking about his family as news emerged that his mother, Galynn, has battled an illness over the last 18 months.

Asked if his mother will be able to attend the game as initially planned, Brady said on Thursday: "I'm still hopeful. I'm not sure, but yeah, hopeful. That's a good word."

The Falcons, meanwhile, got a splendid red-zone performance from quarterback Matt Ryan in their chilly, breezy practice at Rice University, according to the pool report.

In some 20 minutes worth of plays from the 20-yard line and closer against a scout team defense, Ryan was perfect. Not one pass of his hit the ground.

"That's Matt," coach Dan Quinn said after the 80-minute practice. "I am so pumped for him, the way he has worked. It is not surprising the offense feels so good about the plan and has practiced so clean."

Red zone efficiency is near the top of Atlanta's to-do list as the Patriots have been especially stingy from inside the 20, leading the NFL in fewest points allowed.

Players nursing injuries, including center Alex Mack, star receiver Julio Jones and pass-rusher Dwight Freeney all practiced on a limited basis and were expected to play on Sunday.

The Falcons planned to tour the NRG Stadium field and locker room before returning to Rice for a final walk-through session.

source: news.abs-cbn.com