“Here’s what I know: the Patriots were going to beat the Colts regardless of what the footballs looked like,” President of the United States Barack Obama

For weeks, all the New England Patriots heard about was deflategate and how some reporter accused them of using under inflated footballs in a story that was inflated out of proportion, haunting Tom Brady and the New England Patriots as they prepared mentally and physically for the biggest games of their lives.

Coming out on top 28-24, the New England Patriots won their fourth Super Bowl in NFL history, all of which have came in the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era. It was their biggest win to date, despite being just a four point win, and the game could have gone either way.

Both teams boasted a plethora of talent, but in the end New England showed more football mental toughness and appeared better mentally prepared in this one.

Mentally and physically, the Patriots came into the contest prepared for a victory. After losing their past two Super Bowl appearances to the New York Giants, the Patriots’ football confidence on the gridiron was tested as they faced off against the defending Super Bowl champs, the Seattle Seahawks.

The game itself went back in fourth, but the Patriots seemed to do a better job in terms of mental football preparation, they did whatever it took to win.

Showing the most football mental toughness out of anyone out there all day was Patriots rookie defensive back Malcolm Butler. Signed as an undrafted free agent out of West Alabama, Butler started just one game for the Patriots this year and had never gotten an interception. He was truly a Super Bowl hero, coming up clutch in a major fashion.

After deflecting a pass which ended up in the receiver’s hands when he was on the ground, it appeared as though the Seahawks could have won the game because of Butler. For some reason, Seattle opted to try and throw one in instead of using their potent ground game to score and the decision backfired as in head coach Pete Carroll’s football mind, throwing the football was the best bet.

Instead of being rattled after giving up a big play (which was not his fault), Butler went out there and aggressively played defense, showing football confidence, knowing that there was a championship on the line.

From out of nowhere, Butler came and got an interception for New England, preventing a Seattle score, securing the victory for the Patriots.
Psychologically, Butler did not lose his football confidence and stayed focus on the play at hand, after giving up a big play a few plays before.

“I knew one was coming up and one was coming over. It was clutch time and we needed, so I went on and made the play… I just had to step up,” Butler told a reporter according to the league’s website.

Many players would have given up hope, but mentally Butler still knew the Patriots could win the game, so he did what he had to do to help his team win.

Psychologically, the Seahawks could not bear the loss, pushing and shoving Patriots players as they were taking knees.

Showing the moral high ground were the Patriots because their mental preparation for this football game had paid off, they were the Super Bowl Champions.

Looking back on it, this might just be the New England Patriots’ best Super Bowl win. It came against a tough Seattle Seahawks opponent who had the best ground game and defense in the league according to ESPN, while the quarterback, Russell Wilson, showed football confidence running and throwing the football.

As a result of the win, Tom Brady earned his fourth career Super Bowl ring, and his third Super Bowl MVP award.

Now, thanks to his football mental toughness and inability to give up after losing his past two Super Bowls, Brady will be in consideration when it comes to the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history while Bill Belichick will be up there with the best coaches in the history of the game.

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