The New England Patriots lost Super Bowl 52 to the Philadelphia Eagles, but it wasn't because of Tom Brady. The 40-year-old quarterback put together one of the greatest offensive performances in Super Bowl history as he threw for a record 505 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in a losing effort.

Prior to Brady, no quarterback had ever lost a single game (regular season or postseason) after putting up that sort of remarkable stat line.

It's another testament to Brady's enduring brilliance that he was able to become the first player ever to top 500 passing yards in a Super Bowl at age 40. He also did so against one of the top defenses in the league despite losing one of his top receivers in Brandin Cooks so early in the game.

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However, it also speaks to the Patriots defense's disastrous showing that they put Brady's historic performance to waste and gave him that dubious distinction.

Had the defense played a little bit better, Brady would have had his sixth Super Bowl ring on the back of a record-setting performance, all but securing his status as the best of all-time in the process.

Again, the fact that the Patriots lost shouldn't take away from Brady's incredible effort. Apart from the costly strip-sack in the final minutes, he did just about all he could do to lead the Pats to another title. But as his stat line proves, not even the greatest quarterback of all-time could overcome the other deficiencies in his team.