/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/YM5CUAPINZG6PEFX4JDQJGJFPA.jpg "In this Sept. 19, 2005, file photo, former Dallas Cowboys players, from left, Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith enjoy a moment together after being inducted into the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor.")
Michael Irvin knows a thing or two about Super Bowls, particularly winning them.
The former wide receiver was 3-0 in the big game as one of the legendary “Triplets” for the Dallas Cowboys, along with quarterback Troy Aikman and running back Emmitt Smith, all three now Hall of Famers.
So when Irvin, now an analyst on the NFL Network, was asked Friday who he would want under center in the Super Bowl, down five, with a minute and half left and having to go 80 yards to win, “The Playmaker” didn’t hesitate.
“I want it to be Tom Brady. Period,” Irvin, 54, said on the 10 Questions With Kyle Brandt podcast. “Ultimately ... these moments are made on the certain moments that you can make that play when you have to. Don’t tell me about what Tom did. Tell me about did he do what he needed to do to win the game?
“And the answer has been yes to the tune of him in his 10th Super Bowl. That’s all I want. Aaron Rodgers has been in one, because somewhere along the line he didn’t make the right decision. It’s about decision-making. We just get caught up on talent.”
Irvin, who won a national championship in college at Miami, wasn’t done, even heaping beyond-football praise on Brady, a six-time Super Bowl winner with the Patriots before joining the Bucs this season.
“Brady is embarking upon, touching (being) the greatest athlete, period, across sports with what he’s doing right now,” Irvin said. “If he wins this Super Bowl, and he has the same team coming back again, and do it again, we’re (not) even talking about him being the greatest quarterback. We’re talking about comparing him to the greatest athlete, period, to ever live.”
• • •
Tampa Bay Times Super Bowl 55 coverage
BUCS, REMADE: From laughingstock to Super Bowl with one simple change
BRADY IN THE BIG GAME: We rank all nine Tom Brady Super Bowl appearances
HOW THEY STACK UP: Ranking the first four Super Bowls staged in Tampa
FANS IN TAMPA: A first look inside the Super Bowl Experience in Tampa
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