They traded blows in a duel that shattered records Sunday and will spur retrospective later, the five-time champion and the serendipitous starter trading touchdown drives like Tiger Woods and Bob May swapping birdies at Valhalla.
That Tom Brady did not win his sixth Super Bowl at U.S. Bank Stadium ultimately will not do much to tarnish his legacy. Not after a game in which the 40-year-old threw for 505 yards, setting a Super Bowl record for passing yards in four quarters a year after he needed five to do it.
Still, 16 years after Brady entered the NFL’s pantheon of champions as a former backup who made the plays to deny a former Super Bowl winner another Lombardi Trophy, Nick Foles strode by him and burst through the same door.