Perhaps it makes sense that the first Super Bowl after the last presidential election would be a constant series of shocks and surprises. A six-yard touchdown play by Tevin Coleman capped of Atlanta’s scoring drive, and the Falcons extended their lead to 28-3 in the third quarter.
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The Super Bowl has been analyzed ad nauseum as the clash between the Patriots and Falcons draws near. No quarterback at 39 makes storming through the final minutes of the Super Bowl look as easy as he did at 26.
“That should shut up all the doubters about who the greatest QB of all time is!” former Patriots linebacker Vince Wilfork tweeted. It will either be the upstart Atlanta Falcons first-ever title? “We know how to get open”. “You’ve got to be able to finish”.
The Steelers had never won a postseason game until Noll arrived. Expansion teams created after the merger get counted for whichever conference they’re in, the NFC or AFC.
“That was exactly the way we didn’t plan it”, Brady joked at the podium after New England scored 31 unanswered points in the improbable comeback. Ryan was then sacked for a loss of 12. It was hardly Ryan’s fault.
While Brady was at home watching football from his couch, Ryan was out on the field working to get wins.
There are certainly Trump voters among Falcons fans, who are feeling the pain of defeat. A missed extra point that kept the score to 28-9.
“No doubt that was a tough one for us”, said Quinn. That play Atlanta at New England’s 22-yard line with under five minutes left. Again, that’s a stunning 99 percent chance to win based on the score, along with the fact that the Falcons had the ball with nearly a sure field goal. Starting from his 8, Brady found Chris Hogan and rookie Malcolm Mitchell for completions before Julian Edelman made a ridiculous 23-yard catch off a deflection, barely controlling it as he fell atop a pile of enemy arms and legs.
While Atlanta’s offense went scoreless in the first quarter, they did find success on the ground, rushing for 56 rushing yards on their first two possessions.
An incomplete pass later, the Falcons punted – after running only 18 seconds off the clock on three plays. Close enough. The season of Ryan’s life had ended like this. They struggled to run, and they struggled to keep the Falcons away from Brady, and only a succession of Atlanta holding penalties kept the drive alive. Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan gambled, calling for a deep pass when safety would have seemed prudent. “I’ll tell you that right now”.
It was as if they had started the game over.
That was the last thing to go wrong for the Patriots.
Tom Brady’s record fifth Super Bowl win was his finest. “A spectacular catch. One of the greatest catches I’ve ever seen”. Brady tried to hit Danny Amendola to his left, but Alford jumped the route, picked off the pass and returned it 82 yards for a touchdown – giving the Falcons a commanding 21-0 lead with 2:21 left in the half.
The Patriots won the overtime coin toss.
New England’s 34-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI Sunday night settled more than a few debates.
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“It’s not the end of the world”, Freeman said.
