New England Patriots running back James White was arguably the Super Bowl LI MVP in last night’s historic 21-point 4th quarter comeback. To cap off a great game, James White ran the ball in from the 2-yard line to crown the New England Patriots as the Super Bowl Champions.
With an already historic night in the books, over 31 records were broken and tied in the making. On-route to the victory, White managed to break a few records of his own. Here are just a few of them:
First player in NFL Postseason history to have 10 catches, 100 receiving yards and 2 rushing TD in a game
Most points scored by an individual in the super bowl (20 points)
Most receptions in a Super bowl (14 receptions)
1st player in Super Bowl history with 2 Rush TD and a Rec TD in the same game
In an interview conducted by CBS This Morning, the 4th-round draft pick reflected on his unforgettable night. When asked about what the turning point was, he responded with a subtle but foreseeable outcome.
“We knew the second half was going to be a long half for us. We wanted to take it one drive at a time. Defense would get a stop. Offense continued to score points and decrease the deficit and put ourselves in a position to win the game. I think Hightower’s strip sack really changed the momentum for us. We were fired up, but I think they gave us a little bit more energy.”
“With a guy like Tom Brady, you can never lose hope. Anything can happen. We played a complementary football game. Defense came out, and the second half, they played unbelievable, the special teams played unbelievable. The offense, we just tried to score points.”
He also went on to talk about the final play of the game.
It didn’t take too long after the game for Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady to chime in with his thoughts of White’s career day, even teasing that he might give the talented runningback his Super Bowl MVP truck.
“I think James White deserves it. It’d be nice for him. It took a real team effort.”
“White is like my oldest son,” Brady said at Monday’s victor news conference. “He just does everything right and you can never get mad at him because even if he doesn’t make the play, he feels worse about it than you do. He’s just the best teammate. He’s an incredible player. He’s been that way since he really assumed that big role when Dion got hurt last year. I’m so proud of him and everything he’s accomplished. I’ve seen him grow from a rookie to working his tail off to become a big factor in all of these games.
“That particular role in our offense — in the Kevin Faulk mold, in the Danny Woodhead mold, in the Shane Vereen mold. Ultimately what Dion and James have done has been incredible for our offense because they’re tough matchups and not only can they run and not only can they catch but they pass protect too. There’s a lot of toughness and they’re so well coached by Ivan Fears who is a great coach for our team and gets those guys so ready every week. It’s just a great performance by him when we needed it the most on the biggest stage and he really came through for us.”
And on top of that, Brady is even giving White his Super Bowl MVP truck, much like Brady did for Malcolm Butler in 2015.
Just two years ago in the Patriots Super Bowl XLIX victory over the Seattle Seahawks, Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady awarded his Chevrolet truck that comes with the MVP honors to Cornerback Malcolm Butler for his game-saving interception on the goal line. It seems like Brady again will pay the truck forward to James White for his incredible performance during the game.
I think it’s safe to say that the NFL should preview a Super Bowl rematch between both the Falcons and the Patriots in the 2017 season opener, just as they did this season between the Broncos and Panthers in their tribute to the Super Bowl matchup.
