2018 was a year to remember for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Especially the tail end of the season, where they overcame the Jacksonville Jaguars’ stellar defense to win the AFC Championship game. The Patriots and Brady came close to winning their 7th Super Bowl title together, which unfortunately did not happen. However, there is one more reason why that year is particularly noteworthy.
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Players suffering injuries are a common phenomenon in the NFL. In fact, many players even end up playing through those injuries. However, what Tom Brady suffered before the AFC Championship game in 2018 was no ordinary injury. In fact, the Patriots had to cook up an elaborate process to hide the injury from the public.
Tom Brady had an injury that many thought would prevent him from playing
During a practice session before the AFC game, Brady’s attempt at handing over the ball to running back Rex Burkhead backfired massively. Instead of a clean handover, the ball jammed right back into Brady’s thumb and hyperextended it. The mishap was so severe, that Brady ended up with his thumb split wide open at the base. Apparently, the doctors could even see his thumb bone.
Fortunately for him, there was no damage to the bone or to the ligaments. Whatever happened was fixable. However, it needed time to heal, time that neither Brady nor the Patriots had in abundance. Against the advice of his doctors, Brady continued to practice after his hand was patched up. That came in handy for him, after he beat the No.1 defense in the AFC to go on to the Super Bowl.
It was equally essential to hide the injury, as was fixing it
While the doctors were busy stitching up Brady‘s hand, the rest of the Patriots had their hands full trying to prevent a leak. Bill Belichick certainly wouldn’t want the Jaguars to know the situation. If the news about the injury were to reach Jacksonville, Brady would be bleeding from his hand again come game day.
Fortunately for everyone involved, things worked out as well as they could under the circumstances. While the Patriots and Brady did not win another Super Bowl, they at least managed to come dangerously close to winning it. It would have been a fairytale ending only seen in movies if they had actually managed to win. However, one could say that it is still a fairytale ending, in a way.
