GLENDALE, Ariz. -- On the cusp of the game-winning drive, with his New England Patriots trailing the Seattle Seahawks by three, Tom Brady leaned into his huddle and said, "We need a championship drive."
His teammates did what they were told. They moved the ball 64 yards in 10 plays, the last of which was a 3-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Julian Edelman. After Brady's fourth touchdown pass of the game (and 14 unanswered, fourth-quarter points), the Patriots led the Seahawks 28-24 with 2:02 left on the clock.
Admittedly, if Seattle head coach Pete Carroll doesn't reinvent the wheel and throw a pass on second-and-goal at the Patriots' 1-yard line, and if rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler doesn't jump a route and intercept a Russell Wilson pass, we're not having this championship discussion. But they did what they did, and now Brady and the Patriots are four-time Super Bowl winners.
Thirteen years ago, a 24-year-old Tom Brady similarly rallied the troops in New Orleans and managed to beat the heavily favored St. Louis Rams. It was the first of the team's run, and it signaled a special talent.
"Hard to remember that far back," Brady said. "I'm a little bit older now. You just have to make plays to win. It was great. We haven't had many games this year that have come down like this. I'm glad we made the plays when we needed to."
That drive is why Brady has won the Super Bowl MVP award three times. The touchdown to Edelman was his 37th completion of the game, a Super Bowl record. It was also his 13th career Super Bowl touchdown pass, another record.
The drive was also a microcosm of the Patriots' offensive modus operandi this season: Just do what you have to do against the defense presented. On this day, they essentially ran the ball through the air.
The Seahawks, who have the best defense in football, don't play a lot of strategic games. On Sunday, they played primarily zone. With four of their best defensive backs injured to some degree, they stayed disciplined and kept the ball in front of them.
"We knew the backs would catch a lot of balls when they're playing zone," Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. "We felt the few times they played man-to-man, Gronk [Rob Gronkowski] was going to be big."
And that's just what happened.
On the go-ahead drive, the ball went to running back Shane Vereen five times, four of them through the air. He caught short passes on three of the drive's first four plays (a 9-yarder to Edelman was mixed in), but one was nullified by a penalty. Vereen's 6-yard catch would have delivered the ball to the Seattle 42-yard line, but Danny Amendola was called for offensive pass interference, which sent the Patriots back to their 48.
When Brady recognized man coverage on second-and-11, he connected with Gronkowski on a crossing route, and Gronk left Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas in his wake for a 20-yard gain. It might have been the offensive play of the game.
"We were very patient," McDaniels said. "We took advantage of our few opportunities with Gronk."
There was another pass to Vereen and another to Gronkowski before Vereen ran up the middle for 7 more yards. Brandon LaFell caught another short pass, good for 7 yards, to bring the ball down to the Seattle 5-yard line.
The Patriots, according to McDaniels, were running clear-out routes -- in lieu of a running game -- to create space.
"The passing lanes against that defense are so narrow," McDaniels said. "You have to move them and make them cover somebody. You've got to make sure somebody's always chasing somebody and then run someone underneath into that space. That's why Shane is in the game as much as he is."
After LeGarrette Blount went up the gut for 2 yards, the Patriots had second-and-goal at the Seahawks' 3-yard line.
One of the game's intriguing subtexts was the banged up Seattle secondary. Four of the five best defensive backs were playing hurt. Nickel back Jeremy Lane injured his wrist on a first-quarter interception and was replaced by second-year corner Tharold Simon. The Patriots went after Simon, with mixed results.
But on this occasion, he got separated from Edelman, whom Brady hit for what proved to be the winning touchdown.
Vereen wound up with 11 catches (on 12 targets) for 64 yards. Edelman caught nine balls for 109 yards and the winning touchdown, while Gronkowski was 6-for-68 with a score.
Brady, asked for the key to victory, responded, "Mental toughness."
It started with the quarterback. He threw eight passes on that drive and completed them all. Going back to the previous touchdown, to Amendola, Brady had completed nine straight passes.
"We just put our two-minute-type personnel out there with Shane, three receivers and Rob," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said. "I thought that was our best opportunity there, from, let's say, the 10-minute mark or so. It worked out well, and our offensive line did a great job. Tom did a great job. Our receivers made a lot of tough catches and tough yards.
"That's what you've got to do against a team like Seattle. They don't give you anything easy."
But on the winning drive, the Patriots managed to take just enough.