Super Bowl LI Recap

Football season is officially over and now it’s time to move onto baseball. But first, let’s recap Super Bowl LI.

On Feb. 5, the Atlanta Falcons met the New England Patriots for Super Bowl 51 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. Before you could even say Super Bowl, the game felt like it was over — but little did we know with the Falcons up 28–3, it was just beginning.

This was a brutal ending to arguably the best season in Atlanta Falcons history. Atlanta blew the largest lead ever, resulting in the Patriots coming out on top — making this Tom Brady’s fifth victory and dubbing him the greatest quarterback of all time. Brady is now the quarterback with the most Super Bowl wins, surpassing Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw at four.

With the Falcons up 14–0, the key play of the game appeared to come with less than three minutes left in the first half. Brady’s third down pass was picked off and returned 82 yards by corner back Robert Alford, making it a 21–0 game. The Patriots ended the half with points on the board adding a field goal, making it a 21–3 game.

The Falcons were perfectly set up for a six-yard touchdown run on the second drive of the second half by running back Tevin Coleman. The Patriots responded, scoring their first touchdown of the game, a five-yard run by running back James White. Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski missed the extra point, doing the Falcons a favor, making it a 28–9 game. The Patriots’ defense missed an onside kick, yet got a quick stop, forcing the Falcons to punt. The Patriots settled for a field goal with 9:44 to go in the fourth, making it a 28–12 game.

On the Falcons’ next drive, quarterback Matt Ryan fumbled on third and one, setting up a short field for the Pats. Wide receiver Danny Amendola scored on a six-yard touchdown pass by Brady. The Pats went for two points, snapping the ball to running back James White, making it a 28–20 game with less than six minutes left.

Then, it happened — the Falcons starting losing control. The Pats got the ball back and wide receiver Julian Edelman made an insane catch down the field. The drive ended with a one-yard touchdown from White. Once again, the Pats attempted for two, successfully passing to Amendola, tying the game at 28–28 with :57 seconds left.

The game went into overtime and New England won the toss. On second and goal from the two-yard line, White scored the game-winning touchdown, resulting in a 34–28 final score. The Pats had the largest comeback in Super Bowl history. They were down by 25 points in the second half and ended up winning.