Tom Brady is basking in the glory tonight. Good for him. He gets to play in Super Bowl LI … that’s No. 51.
But wait a second, OK? The New England Patriots stud quarterback, who won the most valuable player award for tonight’s AFC championship game victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, ought to share the spotlight with a couple of young men who haven’t gotten so much as a mention tonight.
They would be Jimmy Garoppolo (pictured) and Jacoby Brissett.
Who are these fellows? They’re the backup quarterbacks who led the Patriots to a 3-1 start for the NFL season — while Brady was serving a four-game suspension over that infamous “Deflategate” controversy in 2015.
If the Patriots had floundered and flailed at the start of the season, they wouldn’t have been in position to earn home-field advantage in the playoffs, which well could have helped them defeat the Steelers tonight. Suppose, too, they had lost, say, another game or two to start the season. They might have become so dispirited that their fortunes the rest of the way could have turned out quite differently.
But they kept their poise in Brady’s absence. Garoppolo and Brissett held the team together while Brady watched. Then the Big Man returned and picked up where the backups left off.
I will tip my proverbial hat to Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett, even if no one else is giving them the props they deserve.