Tom Brady will go for fourth Super Bowl ring

Tom Brady will leave the comparisons to others, and will begin to put his career in perspective only after it's over.

"I haven't had much time to reflect," he said after his latest signature victory, a 45-7 rout of the Colts in the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium on Sunday night. "It's a great accomplishment for our team. Hopefully, our best is yet to come."

Another Brady masterpiece has earned him a sixth trip to the Super Bowl, the most of any quarterback. Ever.

He and former Broncos quarterback John Elway were tied for the most Super Bowl appearances by a quarterback, and now that distinction belongs to Brady, who may well go down as the greatest quarterback in NFL history.

If he isn't the greatest already.

But again, it's not about Brady. At least that's what he says.

"I think for me, it's about our team," said the 37-year-old quarterback, who threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns.

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The Patriots also had a standout performance from running back LeGarrette Blount, who had 148 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

"It's a journey," Brady said. "I think being able to accomplish winning the final game of the year is what you play for. There are 32 teams that start out, there are two remaining. We're trying to be the one that finishes off the season the way you want to, like we wanted to from the start of the year."

Brady has three Super Bowl rings, but his last two appearances in the title game resulted in losses to the Giants after the 2007 and 2011 seasons. He and the Patriots will face the defending champion Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX on Feb. 1 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

"It's a great challenge. We're going to play a great team," he said of the Seahawks. "That's why they're in it, too. They've overcome adversity, too. They're really well-coached, but we have two weeks to prepare. We'll be ready to go."

Brady had a much lighter workload against the Colts than he did the week before against the Ravens, when he threw 50 passes and the Patriots had only 13 rushing attempts. This time he threw 35 times and the Patriots ran it 40 times.

One of his touchdown passes went to offensive tackle Nate Solder, who reported as an eligible receiver early in the third quarter, caught a pass in the left flat and then ran in for a 16-yard TD that made it 24-7.

"Nate made a great catch," Brady said. "Tough conditions out there. It's raining and I mean, for God's sake, he runs over two guys to get in there [in the end zone]."

More to come against the Seahawks?

"I don't know. Maybe we have more tricks up our sleeve," Brady said.

One more win, and Brady joins Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana as the only quarterbacks with four Super Bowl victories.

"Tom's a good player," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said in his typically understated terms. "He works hard, is in good condition. He's obviously very smart and experienced. He doesn't get fooled very often. He works as hard as any player we have. He comes in early, studies a lot of film, knows our game plan, knows what the defense is doing and spends a lot of time on the practice field and after practice working on his timing [and] execution."

It's hardly a shock that Brady is making more history.

"When a guy is as talented as he is and works as hard as he does," Belichick said, "those results aren't that surprising."

By Bob Glauber

Special to NewsdayBobGlauber

Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”