Patriots Miraculous Super Bowl Victory Aided By Falcon Blunders

Depending on who you were rooting for, either Tom Brady led the New England Patriots to one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history, certainly the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, or the Atlanta Falcons produced one of the greatest collapses in NFL and Super Bowl history. The Falcons were up 28-3 at one point in the third quarter but Tom Brady led the Patriots to 25 consecutive points to take the game into overtime and then won it by scoring a TD on the opening drive of the extra session.

This is Brady’s fifth Super Bowl victory and he threw for 416 yards, both Super Bowl records. Running back James White had a record 14 catches and also scored three touchdowns including the game winner. The Patriots were completely dominated in the first half, unable to stop the Falcons rushing attack which then opened up the passing game. New England could not generate any offense as the running game was stuffed and Brady was constantly under pressure. That pressure turned a potential scoring drive by the Patriots into an 82 yard pick six by Brady. The only silver lining was that, even down 21-3 at the half, the Patriots had run more plays and led in time of possession.

When the Falcons scored on their second possession of the third quarter to make it a 28-3 game, it looked like this could easily be a blowout. But that’s when the Falcons took their foot off the gas. They forced the Pats to go for it on 4th down from midfield but could not stop the conversion. Mark that down as the first chance to seal the game that got away. The pass rush started to be less effective and Brady was able to lead the Patriots on a time-consuming drive that culminated in a TD late in the third quarter, but Gostowski bounced the extra point off the upright to make it 28-9. The Patriots tried an onside kick that failed but the Falcons could not move the ball and punted. Mark that as Atlanta’s second opportunity to seal the game that got away.

The Patriots had the ball as the 4th quarter began and need 3 scores to tie and hold the Falcons scoreless. Brady again led the Pats in a methodical drive down the field but Atlanta got a sack with the Pats inside the 10 and held New England to a field goal. There was a little under 10 minutes remaining and it was now technically a two score game. The Pats kicked deep but Atlanta was able to move the ball quickly out to their own 40 yard line. But that was where Ryan had his arm hit as he threw and fumbled and the Pats took over at the Falcon 25 with 8-/12 minutes left. Even a punt would have forced another methodical march from the Pats and eaten up more clock, another chance gone for the Falcons. Instead the Pats immediately capitalized and scored with 6-1/2 minutes left and converted the two point conversion.

Now it is a one possession game and again the Pats kick it deep and the Falcons start inside their own 20. But the Falcons move the ball again and Julio Jones makes a sensational and what should have been a game clinching catch at the New England 23 yard line, in easy field goal range for Matt Bryan. Instead Ryan gets sacked again and an offensive holding penalty sets the Falcons even further back and they are forced to punt.

Falcons fans will go to their grave wondering why the team did not run the ball three times, which had been effective all night, and kick a game clinching field goal. It will be a call that will be second guessed for decades. It was clear that the Falcons defense was flagging so it would have given them time to rest, eaten up New England’s time outs, and a field goal wins the game. But it was not meant to be.

The Patriots got the ball with about 3-1/2 minutes left and it was clear they would not be stopped. Even worse, Atlanta used up their last time out on a useless challenge on a crazy catch by Edelman that easily could have been an interception. The defensive line was getting no pressure and the DBs were just that quarter step slower than earlier in the game. The Falcons only hope would be to stop the two point conversion. The Patriots scored with 51 seconds left and converted the two points on a play where Atlanta jumped offside.

For the first time in Super Bowl history, the game went into overtime and it was over as soon as New England won the coin toss. The Falcons had nothing in the tank and Brady and the Patriots marched down with White just getting into the end zone for the game winning score.

There are really two stats that tell the story of this game. In the first half, the Falcons ran just 19 plays and held the ball for only a little over 10 minutes, despite scoring 21 points. For the game, the Patriots ran 93 plays, more than double the Falcons 46. The Patriots held the ball for 40:31, the Falcons for just 23:27. The Patriots threw the ball 63 times. Atlanta’s defense just was on the field far too long and for too many plays. And it’s not like the Falcons running game was ineffective. They ran for 104 yards. In essence, the Falcons offense could just not control the clock enough to protect its defense. By the fourth quarter, the defense was simply exhausted and ineffective and the Patriots could not be stopped. And Falcons fans will always be left to wonder why they just didn’t settle for the game clinching field goal when they had the chance.

In the analysis of the other part of the Super Bowl, it was clear that Lady Gaga was once again a show-stopper with a great halftime show. Luke Bryan, unfortunately, paled in comparison to Gaga when it came to the National Anthem. The ads, on the whole, were especially weak, with the two exceptions being the Adolphus Busch immigrant ad and the awesome Lumber 84 ad, which clearly stole the show. The ad apparently could not be shown in its entirety on the broadcast because of its political overtones but the response was so enormous that the website to see the full ad crashed. Here it is in it entirety.