Super Bowl LI was one for the ages, and quite possibly, the best of all-time. Better than the helmet catch. Better than Malcolm Butler. Better than Santonio Holmes. Better than anything. Every Super Bowl feels like the best, but after what happened two nights ago in Houston, only one game can be called the best.
Where to even start with this game? Coming in, the Patriots were slight favorites over the Falcons, and it looked like the Patriots had put together a couple drives before punting twice and suffering a LaGarrette Blount fumble to start the second quarter. The game remained scoreless after one quarter of play, and Brady/Belichick continued their Super Bowl streak of scoreless first quarters. On Atlanta's next drive is when things started to get fun. Sort of. Matt Ryan connected on a 23 yard strike to Julio Jones, and then it was all Devonta Freeman, who rushed for 29 yards and a walk in touchdown on the drive. Atlanta went ahead 7-0. Atlanta forced another 3-and-out for the Patriots and then Matt Ryan once again went to work, slicing up the Patriots secondary and finding tight end Austin Hooper for a 19 yard touchdown to put Atlanta ahead 14-0. The Patriots then went on their first long drive of the game, 11 plays, aided by Atlanta penalties. Then, on the 12th play of the drive, Brady tried to force one into Danny Amendola on a slant, and it ended up right in the waiting arms of Atlanta's Robert Alford, who took it all the way back for a pick-six. Brady's first career postseason pick-six. Atlanta was up 21-0 and it was not looking good for New England. The Patriots got the ball back to end the half but could only manage a field goal, and headed into the locker room facing their largest deficit of the season, 21-3. To start the second half, both team's first drives stalled, and were each forced to punt. Then, Matt Ryan once again found a weapon of his for yet another score. This time, it was running back Tevin Coleman, and Atlanta was pouring it on at this point, up 28-3. The Patriots had trailed before, but never by this much, in such an important game. In Super Bowl XLIX, they were down 10 in the fourth quarter, and came back to win, tying two other teams for largest in Super Bowl history. No way they could mount a 25 point comeback right? Well... Tom Brady and the Patriots came back out to work with just 8:31 to go in the third quarter. They finally put together their best drive of the game, with Brady throwing for 38 yards and a touchdown to unsung hero James White, and the Patriots first touchdown of the game. Unfortunately, Stephen Gostowski hit the upright with his extra point, and the score stayed 28-9. On Atlanta's next drive, they would look to chew up clock, but it didn't work. The Patriots would force a huge 3-and-out and it would give Patriots nation some life for the first time all game. Brady drove the Patriots downfield but the drive stalled after a sack from Grady Jarrett, and Gostowski's field goal cut the lead to 28-12. The Falcons next drive was the one that changed the game for good, on 3rd & 1, Matt Ryan was looking to throw, but LB Dont'a Hightower got by his man and pummeled Ryan, forcing a fumble which was recovered by Alan Branch. The play would send shockwaves through NRG Stadium, and now the momentum was starting to swing to the Patriots. Brady immediately cashed in on the miscue by Atlanta by finding Danny Amendola for a 6 yard touchdown, followed by a 2-pt conversion by James White to cut the lead to 28-20, a one score game. With just under six minutes remaining, Atlanta really needed to use a ton of clock, and be sure to put some sort of points on the board. They did neither. However, all hope did appear lost when Matt Ryan and Julio Jones recreated the Mario Manningham sideline catch all over again. Ryan put the ball where nobody except for Julio could get it, and he did the rest, tapping his feet like a ballerina and somehow holding onto the ball on the way down. That would set up a 1st & 10 from the Patriot 22 with 4:47 to go. Then, the wheels started to come off for Atlanta. First, a loss of 1 to set up 2nd & 11. Followed by a sack for a loss of 12 and a timeout by the Patriots. Then, a holding penalty on Atlanta that pushed them out of field goal range and gave New England a chance. The Patriots would get the ball back on their own 9 yard line with 3:38 remaining. What followed, could be one of the signature drives of Tom Brady's career. It started with two incompletions, then on third down, Brady found Chris Hogan for 16 yards and a first down with 3:17 left. A few plays later, was one that will go down as one of the best in Super Bowl history. Brady's pass was intended for Julian Edelman, but it got batted up in the air, Edelman lunged for it in midair, and when he came down, the ball was resting on one of the Falcons' defenders legs, and he was able to prop it up in the air and still have enough time to get his hand underneath the ball to secure the catch. It was a play that would define the game, and one that probably saved it for the Patriots. Brady would find Amendola once again for 20 more yards, and James White would take care of the rest, catching two passes for 20 yards, and then pounding it into the endzone for the score to make it 28-26. Brady then found Danny Amendola, who fought his way across the goal line for the 2-pt conversion to tie the game with under a minute remaining. Atlanta would punt once again on their next drive and Super Bowl LI would head to overtime for the first time in Super Bowl history. To start OT, the Patriots would win the coin toss and elect to take the ball, with a touchdown winning the game, and their fifth Super Bowl championship in franchise history. Brady started the drive with 5 straight passes to get New England to the Atlanta 25 yard line. Then, James White ran for another 10 yards to the Atlanta 15. A huge pass interference call put the Patriots on the Atlanta 2 yard line, then Brady pitched to James White and he took it across the goal line for the Patriots touchdown, thus completing the largest comeback in Super Bowl history. The Patriots came back from down 25 points in the third quarter to win the Super Bowl, and their fifth in the Brady/Belichick era. As a matter of fact, ALL of them have come from Brady/Belichick. Following the touchdown, Tom Brady collapsed onto all fours, probably because of pure exhaustion, after what transpired in the game, and everything he's had to deal with the past two years. Before the game, Brady dedicated the Super Bowl to his ill mother, who has been battling cancer for the past 18 months. This game obviously meant something more to Brady, who not only wanted to win for his mother, but to get vengeance on the NFL for his deflategate suspension. Super Bowl LI will go down as one of the greatest Super Bowl's of all-time no doubt. The story of a 25 point comeback will never be topped. Bill Belichick always mentions the mental toughness he demands out of his players, and they sure showed up when it mattered most, in the biggest game of their lives, down 25 points, against all odds. There really are no words to describe the last quarter and a half of Super Bowl LI other than, once in a lifetime.
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With the biggest game in all of sports just 3 days away, it's time for everyone to start making their pregame picks and predictions for who will come out on top this Sunday. Whichever team wins, it will be history regardless. Here's everything you need to know about the Patriots and Falcons in time for Sunday. Last Super Bowl appearance/result Patriots: XLIX, defeated Seahawks 28-24 A game that was an instant classic, back and forth the whole game. The game also featured the largest comeback in Super Bowl fourth quarter history in which the Patriots trailed by 10 and came back to take the lead with 2 minutes remaining. The, of course, who can forget? Malcolm Butler. Falcons: XXXIII, lost to Broncos 34-19 The Falcons upset the favored Minnesota Vikings 30-27 in OT of the 1998 NFC Championship game, however in their first (and only) Super Bowl appearance, with the exception of obviously this Sunday, the Falcons fell to the defending champion Broncos. Number of Super Bowl wins: Patriots: 4 (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX) You know the story. Brady stepped in for the injured Bledsoe in 2001 and the rest is history. It's been an era of dominance under Brady and Belichick. Falcons: None Atlanta will try and bring home their first Lombardi trophy this Sunday against the Patriots, who are currently three point favorites. How did they get here? Patriots: Following Tom Brady's unwarranted four game suspension for the scandal known as "Deflategate", the Patriots went on a tear, going 11-1 with Brady at the helm. Their only loss came against the team Atlanta beat in the Divisional round, the Seattle Seahawks on the last play of the game and a questionable non-holding penalty in the end zone against Kam Chancellor. Here's an image of the play: I'll let you be the judge on that one.
Falcons: The Falcons would play very consistent, good football all year long in 2016. Securing an 11-5 record, and a first-round bye, they defeated the Seahawks in the Divisional round and then closed down the Georgia Dome with their first NFC Championship win since 1998 over the Green Bay Packers. Atlanta put up 540 points during the regular season, good enough for best in the NFL and seventh best all-time, tied with the "Greatest Show on Turf" 2000 Rams, who also won the Super Bowl that year. Hmm... Stats and match-ups: Patriots: The Patriots would have the second best scoring offense in the NFL in 2016, right behind the Falcons of course, putting up 441 points in the regular season. The Falcons scored 540. That would usually scare any defense, but not the Patriots. New England however, had the number one scoring defense in the league, only allowing an average of 15.6 PPG. As for finding a way to stop that offense in three days, their best bet is to put Malcolm Butler on Julio Jones with an extra safety such as Devin McCourty or Duron Harmon over the top to take away the deep pass. That leaves the duo of Mohamed Sanu and Taylor Gabriel to deal with. If I'm the Patriots, I would put Eric Rowe on Sanu solely because of the height match-up because, if you were to put him on Gabriel, all Matt Ryan would have to do is throw a slant across the middle and Gabriel would have a touchdown every time. If you stick Logan Ryan on him, his speed is minimized a little bit. Falcons: Unlike the Patriots, the Falcons defense is not as elite, not even close as a matter of fact. Atlanta's defense surrendered 406 points in the regular season, 27th in the NFL. Many people like to call the Patriots a "dink and dunk" team. That means they like to throw short passes across the middle and gain their yards after the catch. What does this mean for Atlanta? It means they have to be able to disrupt Tom Brady's timing and flush him out of the pocket and force him into a bad throw down the field. Will this be easy? No. Is it possible? Yes. We saw it in the Super Bowl two years ago, when Brady threw two bad interceptions that stopped potential momentum for the Patriots. Atlanta will have to rely on the right arm of Matt Ryan for most of the game to keep pace with Brady if their defense struggles. Final thoughts and prediction: This Super Bowl has the chance to be one of, if not the best, of all-time. With that being said, this is the first Super Bowl for just about everyone on the Falcons roster, so ultimately, I believe this game will come down to the wire, and the experience of the Patriots and Tom Brady in pressure situations will be what decides this one. Also, Tom Brady hasn't lost to the Falcons in his career, with a record of 4-0. Final score prediction: Patriots: 38 Falcons: 30 |