TAMPA, Fla. -- Eleven months ago, it was inconceivable that quarterback Tom Brady would choose, of all teams, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to continue his football journey.
Equally implausible was this partnership -- forged in an offseason ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic, with little time to connect with new teammates or master a new playbook -- would yield Brady's seventh Lombardi trophy and 10th Super Bowl.
At the age of 43. On his home turf at Raymond James Stadium.
But Sunday night, playing for the first hometown crowd in Super Bowl history and 7,500 health care workers, Brady and the Bucs defeated Patrick Mahomes and the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, 31-9, giving the Bucs their second Lombardi trophy.