Brady dynasty continues

Buccaneers Super Bowl champs

Tom Brady sealed his place in the pantheon of America’s greatest sporting icons on Sunday, winning a record seventh Super Bowl as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers routed the Kansas City Chiefs, 31-9.

The 43-year-old Brady – who became the oldest man to play in the Super Bowl – etched another remarkable chapter in his 21-year career as the Buccaneers shattered the Chiefs’ dreams of back-to-back NFL championships.

Brady, who only joined the Buccaneers last year after two decades with the New England Patriots, delivered a vintage display with three touchdowns – 21 from 29 completions and no interceptions at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium.

“I’m so proud of all these guys,” said Brady, named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player for the fifth time.

“Everything we dealt with all year ... but the team had a lot of confidence, we came together at the right time,” added Brady, who confirmed he plans to extend his career next season.

“We’re coming back. You know that,” Brady said.

It was a miserable night for the Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, seen by many as the likeliest pretender to Brady’s throne.

Mahomes, 25, was roughed up repeatedly by a relentless Buccaneers defense, sacked three times and intercepted twice, and failed to register a touchdown as the Chiefs’ vaunted offense failed to fire.

“Obviously I didn’t play the way I wanted to play,” said Mahomes. “We battled to the very end. That’s one thing you can say.”

Instead the night belonged to the Buccaneers and Brady, who added another incredible feat to his extensive catalogue of achievements by leading his new franchise to the Vince Lombardi trophy after a tumultuous season played under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m not putting any comparisons,” Brady said when asked to rank his achievement.

“This team is world champions forever and you can’t take it away from us.”

The expected Super Bowl classic never materialized in front of a reduced capacity crowd of 25,000 fans that included 7,500 vaccinated healthcare workers invited as guests by the NFL.

The Buccaneers raced into a 21-6 first-half lead with two touchdowns from Brady’s old Patriots teammate Rob Gronkwowski and a third from Antonio Brown.

Running back Leonard Fournette rushed for a fourth early in the third quarter as the Bucs comfortably closed out a win that saw head coach Bruce Arians become the oldest head coach to win a Super Bowl.

“This really belongs to our coaching staff and our players,” Arians said afterwards.

The Chiefs were left to rue a disastrously indisciplined first half display that saw them give up repeated penalties that cost 95 yards.