Tom Brady leads Patriots to Super Bowl against Falcons

Tom Brady led the New England Patriots into the seventh Super Bowl of his career where they will play the Atlanta Falcons.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, left, congratulates New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady yesterday

Tom Brady led the New England Patriots into the seventh Super Bowl of his career yesterday with a clinical 36-17 defeat of the Pittsburgh Steelers after the Atlanta Falcons routed the Green Bay Packers to reach the NFL showpiece.

Brady, 39, will now be chasing a record-equalling fifth Super Bowl crown in Houston on February 5 after throwing three touchdowns for 384 yards in a convincing defeat of the Steelers at Foxborough’s Gillette Stadium.

Brady’s latest Super Bowl appearances comes 15 years after he led the Patriots to victory over the St Louis Rams in the 2002 game.

“It’s incredible. The team showed a lot of mental toughness over the course of the year,” said Brady, who was suspended for the first four games of the season over for his role in the long-running ‘Deflategate’ saga. “I’m just happy for the team,” Brady added. “I know we’re playing a great team in a couple of weeks, but it’d be great to finish it off.”

Brady was at his deadly best yesterday as the Bill Belichick-coached Pats outsmarted the Steelers with a series of clever plays which often left Pittsburgh’s defence chasing shadows.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger endured a frustrating evening, unable to get any change out of a dominant Patriots defence until finding Cobi Hamilton with a 30-yard pass for a consolation score late in the fourth quarter.

Earlier yesterday, Matt Ryan led a dominant offensive display as Atlanta crushed Green Bay 44-21 in their last ever game at the Georgia Dome. The Falcons surged into a 24-0 halftime lead after overwhelming the Packers defence with their varied running and passing game as Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers was never able to get going.

“We’ve got some more business at Houston in two weeks,” Ryan said after the Falcons were presented the NFC Championship trophy. “We showed up. We did exactly what we’ve been doing all year. It feels really good,” added Ryan, who completed 27 out of 38 pass attempts for 392 yards and four touchdowns.

Green Bay star Rodgers said Atlanta had just been too good. “We played a hot team. You’ve got to give them credit,” Rodgers said.

“Matt is playing incredible right now, and that’s a very good offence.”

Rodgers was left frustrated as the Packers squandered vital early scoring opportunities through a missed Mason Crosby field goal and a fumble from Aaron Ripkowski near the Atlanta line with a touchdown begging.

“I feel like we hurt ourselves in the first half more than they really stopped us,” Rodgers said.

Ryan said the Falcons had been determined not to let up on Green Bay despite building their massive first half lead.

“We just kept at them the entire four quarters. I’m proud of the way we competed,” he said.

AFP