Watch CBS News

Tom Brady Reveals Coach-To-QB Pre-Snap Communication, Imitation Of Peyton Manning In Super Bowl LI

BOSTON (CBS) -- Tom Brady has authored some truly remarkable Super Bowl comebacks in recent years. But he's willing to share the credit.

The future Hall of Fame quarterback sat down with MMQB's Peter King for an in-depth look of exactly how last Sunday's Super Bowl comeback happened.

Among the many choice snippets was Brady's explanation of what took place prior to the Danny Amendola touchdown which cut Atlanta's lead to 10 points, prior to the two-point conversion attempt.

You know, this one:

As Brady told Peter King, it was a gentle suggestion from offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels that helped Brady lock in on Amendola as a target.

Danny Amendola
Danny Amendola catches a touchdown in Super Bowl LI. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

"I think [McDaniels] said, 'Don't forget about Danny,' or 'Danny has a great shot on this.' Something like that," Brady recalled of his communication from McDaniels prior to the signal getting cut at the 15-second mark on the play clock. "I wanted to give Danny a better chance to get open. So I pushed him out because I knew at that point I had changed the route and I wanted to make sure Danny would get the leverage or put him in a better position to get the leverage based on the route that he had. I wanted to move him out because I didn't want him to get stuck inside of Jalen [Collins]. … [Collins] being inside told me it was probably man coverage, a perimeter corner on the inside of the field … When I pushed Danny out, Jalen didn't really adjust, so I was really looking outside after that to see if the corner was going to try to get involved and maybe trapping that to the flat. But once I saw the corner go with the outside receiver [Malcolm Mitchell], I just threw it to Danny."

Brady also spoke about his overtime pass to Chris Hogan, which went for an 18-yard completion up the left sideline. Brady said he learned that throw from watching Peyton Manning, and he added that the undrafted receiver did a good job of emulating Reggie Wayne and Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison.

Chris Hogan
Chris Hogan (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

"It's such a Peyton Manning-type throw. I watched him for so many years make those throws," Brady said of the retired Manning. "I used to be in amazement. Marvin and Reggie, they'd cut their route off, turn around, ball was in the air, in stride, 15-, 18-yard gain. How the heck did they do that? There's so much trust from the quarterback to the receiver. The DB can't get to the ball faster than the receiver can. You got to believe your receiver is going to get to the ball faster than their guy. That's what that play came down to."

Hogan kept coming back through the ball to make the catch despite tight coverage from Collins, and five plays later the Patriots were in the end zone with the winning score.

King also noted that the game-winning touchdown -- a pitch to James White on the right side -- was the Patriots' third of three planned two-point conversion plays in place for the game, making them 3-for-3 on executing their plays from the 2-yard line.

And that's despite David Andrews ending the week of practice with a misfire on the direct snap to White -- the play that ended up being utilized successfully for the Patriots' first two-point conversion of Super Bowl LI.

James White
James White takes a direct snap in Super Bowl LI for a two-point conversion. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

"It was the last play of the whole day [of Friday's practice], and we ran the two-point conversion and we had a mistake, so who knows?" Brady said. "I don't think Josh lost confidence in that play, and certainly not losing confidence in David, because Dave has been a great player for us, and he has done it a hundred times right."

When a team climbs back from a 25-point deficit, a whole host of events have to go their way. And in Super Bowl LI, just about everything went the Patriots' way during crunch time. Brady had quite a bit to do with that, but the interview with King helps shed some light on the intricacies.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.