Even if numbers occasionally lie Lawrence Taylor Giants Jersey , most of them indicate the New England Patriots are in great position to hoist a sixth Lombardi Trophy.

The reasons begin in the only place they could: with Tom Brady.

Yes, at 40 years old Brady would be the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl if the Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. He would dethrone Peyton Manning, who won at age 39 with the Denver Broncos to cap the 2015 season.

Brady has put up numbers in his 18th season unmatched by any player in NFL history. He led the league with 4,577 yards passing during the regular season and his five touchdown passes are tied for the most in the playoffs.

Brady’s seven Super Bowl appearances are as many as the entire Eagles roster. He’s faced a myriad of difficult scenarios in the championship game, including last year’s 25-point hole the Patriots dug out of to beat the Falcons.

Brady won that one without tight end Rob Gronkowski, who will be in uniform after being cleared late this week.

Close games have been no problem , for Brady and coach Bill Belichick either. The total difference in scoring in those seven games is 12 points: Patriots 169, opponents 157.

You want to talk about comebacks? No player in the Super Bowl era has more fourth-quarter comebacks in the playoffs in his career than Brady’s eight. It’s probably why Brady chuckled this week when he was again asked about how long he wanted to keep playing.

”Why does everyone want me to retire so bad?” Brady said. ”I don’t get it. I’m having fun. The team’s doing good. I know I’m a little bit older than most of the guys, but I’m really enjoying it. … I’m not thinking about retirement. I’m thinking about the Super Bowl and trying to win the most important game of the year.”

As big as the Brady factor is, he’s not the only advantage New England has.

The Patriots lost go-to receiver Julian Edelman in the preseason to a knee injury and linebacker Dont’a Hightower to a season-ending shoulder injury in October. After some early-season struggles, Belichick found a way to plug the holes, with contributions from several previously unheralded players like Trey Flowers, Kyle Van Noy Rams Game Jerseys , Lawrence Guy and Ricky Jean Francois .

New England has also gotten a strong season from receiver Brandin Cook after acquiring him from New Orleans this offseason. He posted his third straight 1,000-yard receiving season (1,082) and was second on the team in receiving yards behind only Gronkowski (1,084). Running back Dion Lewis has also found new life just two seasons removed from a knee injury. He led the team with 896 yards rushing and six rushing touchdowns.

It’s underlined the football savvy of Belichick, who with a sixth Super Bowl win would pass Vince Lombardi and tie George Halas and Curly Lambeau for most NFL championships by a coach.

Belichick will be taking part in his 11th Super Bowl as a head coach or assistant, the most among any coach in NFL history. That amounts to 21.2 percent of all Super Bowls in league history and 34.4 percent of all Super Bowls since his first appearance as the Giants defensive coordinator in 1986.

Though there have been reports of alleged friction this season between Belichick, Brady and team owner Robert Kraft, it’s clear they are on the same page when it comes to the pursuit of championships.

”It changes every year. The venues are different, the teams are different, the matchups are different, and the road the team has traveled to get here is different, as is the road your opponent has traveled,” Belichick said. ”Each one is unique. Each one’s special.”

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David Pastrnak’s first goal required a 180-degree spin as he settled down a bouncing puck Authentic Trent Brown Jersey , shifted it from his forehand to his backhand and flipped it into the net.

By the time he scored his second he had already added three assists.

And when the Bruins forward completed the hat trick , faking out a second goalie with a forehand deke before sliding the puck between his legs, it was just one more chance for the Boston fans to celebrate his playoff coming-out party.

”Six points in a Stanley Cup playoff game with a hat trick,” coach Bruce Cassidy said Saturday night after the Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-3 to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven, first-round series. ”That’s special.”

Pastrnak shattered his previous career high of four points, scoring his third goal with 1:36 left to bring two trash cans full of caps and winter hats fluttering down to the ice. Only Wayne Gretzky (three times), Mario Lemieux and Patrick Sundstrom have recorded more than six points in an NHL playoff game.

”A lot of people in Boston already know how good he is,” linemate Patrice Bergeron said. ”I think people on the outside are getting to know.”

Bergeron and Brad Marchand had four assists apiece, Torey Krug had three, and Tuukka Rask stopped 30 shots for Boston. David Krejci, Rick Nash, Jake DeBrusk and Kevan Miller also scored – the second straight game the Bruins had five different players with goals.

”It’s not going to happen every night,” Cassidy said. ”At the end of the day Saquon Barkley Giants Jersey , our guys do believe – from one to 12, I do believe our guys believe they can score.”

Two nights after Frederik Andersen allowed five goals in the series opener, he gave up three more on five shots in the first 12:13 before he was replaced by backup Curtis McElhinney. The Bruins added another power-play goal – their second of the night and fifth of the series – to make it 4-0 after one.

Mitch Marner, Tyler Bozak and James Van Riemsdyk scored for the Maple Leafs, who never got closer than three goals down after that. McElhinney stopped 19 of the 23 shots he faced.

The series moves to Toronto for Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Thursday. Game 5 would be back in Boston on Saturday, if necessary.

It doesn’t look like it will be.

”Look, we were outplayed for two games, certainly,” Maple Leafs defenseman Ron Hainsey said. ”We deserve every bit of criticism far and wide. Good news is: (the) story’s not totally written yet. … We can try to change the story come Monday night.”

Already struggling on offense, Toronto lost No. 4 scorer Nazem Kadri for three games when he was suspended by the NHL for boarding Tommy Wingels in Game 1. Wingels, whose injury was not disclosed, skated in practice Saturday but did not play.

The Leafs could have used Kadri – and a few other scorers like him.

Pastrnak gave Boston a 1-0 lead five minutes into the game when he corralled a bouncing puck in the slot with his back to the goalie, settled it down http://www.lionsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-da_shawn-hand-jersey , spun around and backhanded it in. After DeBrusk made it 2-0 on the power play four minutes later, Miller bounced one in off the back of defenseman Nikita Zaitsev to give the Bruins a three-goal lead and chase Andersen.

Just 11 seconds after Hainsey was given a double-minor for roughing, Nash made it 4-0.

Notes: The Bruins donated $200,000 to the Humboldt Broncos relief efforts, the money from a luxury suite auction and the team’s share of the 50/50 raffle at Game 1 of the series. Sixteen people died and another 13 were injured when the team’s bus collided with a truck last week in Saskatchewan. … With two goals on four power plays, the Bruins are now five for 10 in the series. … Ryan Donato, the son of former Bruin Ted Donato, made his playoff debut. They are the second father and son duo to play for the team in the postseason, joining two-time Stanley Cup-winner Ken (R.) Hodge and his son, Ken (D.) Hodge. … One of the biggest cheers of the night was when the scoreboard showed highlights of Wednesday night’s fight between the Red Sox and Yankees, then cut to brawl instigator pitcher Joe Kelly in the stands. The crowd broke into a chant of ”Yankees Suck!”

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