Tom Brady couldn’t win the Super Bowl because he was NFL MVP

History wasn’t in Tom Brady’s corner. No player this millennium had won the league’s regular season MVP award and a Super Bowl ring.

And despite his best efforts, Brady couldn’t make his own history Sunday. The 2017 NFL MVP fell short in his quest for a sixth Super Bowl ring as the New England Patriots lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 41-33.

It’s the third Super Bowl loss of Brady’s career — and first against a team not named the Giants. The 40-year-old quarterback had fallen short in his previous two bids to win both the MVP and the Lombardi Trophy in the same season. In 2007, his record-setting Patriot offense was derailed by the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII. In 2010, his 14-2 team didn’t even make it out of the Divisional Round of the playoffs, losing a 28-21 shocker to the New York Jets.

If the Patriots had won Super Bowl LII, he would have been a lock to win not just NFL MVP, but the Super Bowl MVP award as well. He finished with 505 yards with three touchdowns and no picks.

Brady is the oldest MVP in league history and is still the oldest starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl — he set that record in last year’s comeback win over the Falcons. He led the league in passing yards while finishing in the top five in touchdown passes, interception rate, yards per pass, and quarterback rating.

But his win was aided by some attrition. Competitors like Eagles QB Carson Wentz, Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, and Steelers WR Antonio Brown all suffered injuries that cost them big chunks of breakout seasons. The last man standing was Brady, who fended off a spirited effort from Rams RB Todd Gurley to take home the league’s highest regular season honor.

On Sunday, he couldn’t tap into that magic once more to get his Patriots a sixth Lombardi Trophy.