The Atlanta Falcons played the perfect half of football they needed, and the well-oiled machine of Patriots stalled and hiccupped through the entire first half. Then, the master mind that is Bill Belichick and the “Terrific” Tom Brady fixed the ship and formed the best come back in Super Bowl history.
There have only been three times in the history of the NFL with a ten point deficit rally in Super Bowl contests, which was until the Patriots came back from being down 25 points. The Patriots created a 31 unanswered point rally to win the first overtime Super Bowl in NFL history. The New England Patriots are Super Bowl Champions in what can only be described as the best game of the season if not the century, it had everything a football fan could ask for and more.
First Half
A near perfect first half for the young Atlanta Falcons, while the seemingly well experienced New England Patriots stalled and sputtered throughout. The Falcons turned a forced LeGarrette Blount fumble that sparked the first Touchdown for the Falcons. A five play 71 yard drive caped off by a five yard touchdown run by Devonta Freeman to make it 7-0. Freeman sliced the Patriots defense for 11.8 yards a carry on six rushes for 71 yards in the half and one touchdown. Matt Ryan looked like a calm collected smart quarterback in the first half going 7-8 passing for 115 yards and one score through the air. Ryan connected with his tight end Austin Hooper for 19 yards and the second score of the game to make it 14-0 Falcons.
For the Patriots, Tom Brady and company never looked comfortable, and the Falcons generated enough pressure to take control of the game tempo against an offense that normally dictates the speed of the game. Tom Brady was pressured and the rest of the offense looked flat. Brady went 16 or 26 passing for 184 yards and one interception, which gave the Falcons their third touchdown of the night thanks to Robert who took it 82 yards to make it 21-0 Falcons. The Patriots running game was none existent in the first half. The Patriots did manage to move the ball down the field, with help of a couple Falcons defensive holding penalties. The Patriots looked to be going into the half with a touchdown drive, until a blatant holding call against Martellus Bennett with 12 seconds left forced the Patriots to settle for a 41 yard Stephen Gostkowski field goal bringing the score to 21-3.
Second Half
The Falcons continued to be strong as they added to their lead, Matt Ryan connected with Tevin Coleman for a six yard touchdown pass making the score 28-3. Even though it would seem impossible, that would be the last time the Falcons would find the end zone. Tom Brady and the Patriots would begin to dig themselves out of a twenty-five point deficit. A thirteen play drive capped off with a Brady-White five yard touchdown pass and after a missed extra point the score was now 28-9. The Falcons played well enough to take that lead into the fourth quarter, but the Patriots were slowly settling in and Brady was starting to pick on the young secondary and the Falcons defense as a whole. The Patriots opened the fourth quarter with a twelve play seventy-two yard drive that was capped off with a thirty-three yard Gostkowski field goal 28-12, and the Patriots creeped ever closer.
The big momentum switch came on a third down play where Matt Ryan was sacked by Dont’a Hightower; Hightower not only came up with the sack but also forced and recovered a fumble deep in Atlanta territory. Brady then cashed in on the turnover just five plays later; when he connected on a six yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola cutting the score to 28-20. Following this drive Julio Jones made the single biggest catch of the season, when he caught a ball along the sideline high pointing the ball and toe tapping along the boundary. That catch put the Falcons in a position to go up by eleven with what would’ve been close to two minutes left, but a sack and penalty took the Falcons out of field goal range. This also put the ball back in the hands of Tom Brady and the Patriots with three and a half minutes left to play. The Patriots created a ten play ninety-one yard drive in a little over two minutes that forced the first overtime in Super Bowl history.
Overtime
After winning the coin toss it took the Patriots eight plays and nearly four minutes to win their fifth Super Bowl in the Belichick-Brady era. With a final score 34-28, Tom Brady finished going on to win his well-deserved 4th MVP, going 43-62 (Super Bowl record) 466 yards and 2 touchdown passes while orchestrating the best come back in Super Bowl history.
Congratulations to all the New England fans out there your team earned that one for sure, plus it was worth the look on Roger Goodell’s face when he handed the trophy to owner Robert Kraft!
Written by:
Carlo Guadagnino
http://cguadagn.wixsite.com/carlo-guadagnino
Edited by:
Ethan Barnes
Daniel Bishop M.A.
References
http://www.espn.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=400927752
