Tom Brady had one of the best Super Bowl performance’s in history when he rallied the New England Patriots from a 25-point deficit to defeat the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. But ESPN’s Michael Wilbon doesn’t believe that was even the best championship performance of the past year.
Wilbon and his “Pardon The Interruption” co-host, Tony Kornheiser, debated Tuesday which athlete played the best when the stakes were the highest, and while Kornheiser went the obvious route and chose Brady, Wilbon went a little bit off book and chose Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson.
His reasoning for picking Watson over Brady, who threw for a Super Bowl-record 466 yards, is who Watson had to defeat to claim his championship.
“The answer is Deshaun Watson,” Wilbon said. “Deshaun Watson was an incredibly heavy underdog who went up against Alabama. He beat Nick Saban, who you slurp on the PTI show. When? On the last play of the game. It was storybook. The answer is Deshaun Watson. Not even Brady did that.”
Of course, Brady hit James White in overtime to give the Patriots their fifth Lombardi Trophy, so Wilbon’s argument has some holes.
When Kornheiser offered his rebuttal by pointing out Brady’s impressive stat line and the deficit the Pats overcame in Super Bowl LI, Wilbon only had one response.
“They were a heavy underdog against Alabama! They beat Nick Saban, come on,” Wilbon said.
Watson’s performance in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game certainly was one for the record books as he hit Hunter Renfrow with a 2-yard touchdown pass with one second remaining to beat the vaunted Alabama Crimson Tide.
The Clemson quarterback picked apart one of the best defenses in college football, baffling Saban and the Tide with his arm and legs.
While Watson’s game was one that won’t soon be forgotten, Brady’s historic comeback against the Falcons is one of the great championship game performances in sports history.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
