Once again, Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots found a way to win by elevating a role player to star status and using him to exploit their opponent.

And that role player, James White, should have hoisted the MVP trophy.

Now, look: We all know the Pats wouldn’t have done a thing in their insane comeback in Super Bowl 51 without Tom Brady and his 466 passing yards. What he helped engineer on Sunday was nothing short of astounding, and with heroics from just about everyone up and down the roster, it’s hard to single out anyone but the superstar for the most valuable player.

But White caught an astounding 14 receptions, smashing a Super Bowl record. And he matched Terrell Davis’s Super Bowl XXXII with three touchdowns (which earned Davis the MVP), the last of which was a Herculean effort to find the end zone for the game-winning score.

This is the crazy thing: White was the Patriots’ main pass-catching back out of the backfield for most of the 2016 season, but when Dion Lewis returned, the pair split time. In his first two games of the postseason, White caught just a total of four passes. Just like Chris Hogan and his jaw-dropping AFC Championship game (nine catches for 180 yards), White proves the Patriots don’t need superstars to win championships. The team’s interchangeable parts can be moved up and down depending on the situation.

We’re not the only ones who think White deserved top honors over Brady. Take it from this expert, who happens to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers:

Or, even Brady himself:

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