Tom Brady crushes Super Bowl curse in historic first-quarter moment

Tom Brady had never managed to register a touchdown pass in the first quarter of nine previous Super Bowl appearances.

But that all changed on Sunday when Brady connected with Rob Gronkowski with just seconds remaining in the opening term of Super Bowl LV.

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Brady’s pass to Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammate Gronkowski was the 13th time the two have connected for a TD in a Super Bowl - breaking the all-time record.

It helped the Bucs take a 7-3 lead after the first quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Brady was stuck on the sidelines for the majority of the quarter as he struggled to get anything going.

The Buccaneers lost containment a few times, and Patrick Mahomes was up to 24 rush yards — and two big first downs — on three carries.

That was despite reports that his toe is still not fully healthy and likely will require surgery in the off-season.

To their credit, the Bucs defence forced Mahomes into a 1-for-6 passing start passing.

Harrison Butker hit the game’s first field goal for the first points of the game.

History beckons in Super Bowl LV

Someone will make history in a Super Bowl so filled with storylines it would fill a season of TV programming.

Brady is going for a seventh ring. Mahomes, the apparent heir to the quarterbacking summit, is seeking a second in a row with Kansas City - something no team has done since Brady led New England to the double in the 2003 and '04 seasons.

Brady, 43 is in his 10th NFL title game, but with a new outfit, the Buccaneers - who happen to call Tampa home.

Yes, Tampa, Florida, where the Super Bowl is being played on Sunday (Monday AEDT). No team has played in the big one in their home stadium previously.

“There's a lot that comes along with the Super Bowl,” said Gronkowski, the three-time champion tight end who came out of retirement to reunite with Brady.

“There's a lot that comes along with this week.

“But just having it at home, cutting out the travel, knowing where you can stay, where your friends can stay, where you family can stay, it just makes it a lot easier to have it at your home stadium, big time.”

Add in two sixty-something head coaches, Kansas City’s Andy Reid and Tampa Bay's Bruce Arians, both offensive masterminds as comfortable with today’s high-scoring, creative NFL attacks as all those kid coaches who are all the rage.

“There's nobody that would ever say a bad thing about B.A., he's just so endearing to everybody and I think everyone wants to win for him,” Brady said of Arians, the kind of praise the quarterback rarely used about his previous head coach.

“He's got almost like a father figure kind of role in the building and it's because everyone loves him so much,” Chiefs All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce said of Reid.

“He's got an unbelievable way of getting the best out of everybody that is relating to all different aspects and all different forms of life.”

with AAP

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