SHOULDA, COULDA, WOULDA
Hindsight may be 20-20, but anyone can see opportunities were missed
The Atlanta Falcons coulda elected to receive the opening kickoff after winning former U.S. president George Bush’s coin toss and, with regular season MVP Matt Ryan at the controls of an offence that scored a league high 540 points, who would have blamed them? Instead, they remained patient and deferred, giving Tom Brady the first possession. The plan allowed the Falcons’ unheralded defence to set the tone — and did it ever. The Patriots went three and out the first time with the ball and in the opening half Brady was sacked twice, threw a pick six (Robert Alford) and was mostly out of sync (16 of 26). In the first half, the guy who was supposed to be the greatest QB of all time played nowhere near as well as Ryan, who had Atlanta in front 21-3 by the time Lady Gaga did her thing. With the way Falcons tackle Grady Jarrett and the rest of the D was going, that looked to be insurmountable.
RUNNING WILD
The Patriots coulda overestimated their advantage in the running game. They were supposed to control the clock by handing the ball to LaGarette Blount all evening. The problem, of course, is their big back mostly ran into a wall during the first half (eight carries, 16 yards) against a defence that was ranked 17th against the rush during the season. Meanwhile, Falcons lead running back Devonta Freeman was outstanding, starting with his first touch, a 37-yard romp from the Atlanta eight. The Patriots, who had the third-ranked rushing defence, were completely fooled on the Falcons’ first TD, biting on what they thought would be a play action pass to Julio Jones and allowing Freeman to stroll in from the five. The Freeman-Tevin Coleman combo was a handful for the Patriots, while Blount was guilty of a second quarter fumble the Falcons turned into a touchdown drive. Of course, Patriots running back James White had some heroics saved for the second half.
BY JOSH, THAT WAS A BAD CALL
The Patriots shoulda left the field at halftime with a touchdown on the last drive. They were moving in that direction and seemed poised to get into the end zone for the first time when White went out of bounds at the Atlanta three with 12 seconds left, but Martellus Bennett was called for holding. With the ball brought back to the 23 and still enough time for a couple of plays, Patriots offensive co-ordinator Josh McDaniels inexplicably called a tight-end screen and Bennett got nowhere. New England had to settle for a field goal, leaving its deficit at 18 when it shoulda been 14. While we’re at it, McDaniels shoulda got Chris Hogan a little more involved in the first half after his wide receiver ripped apart the Pittsburgh Steelers (nine catches, 180 yards, two touchdowns) in the AFC championship game. McDaniels would have the last laugh, however.
TIME OF THE ESSENCE
The Patriots shoulda figured out a way to keep the Falcons offence off the field longer. OK, so that’s much easier said than done, but the first time Ryan and Co. really stuttered was after a one-hourand-eight-minute span between plays — from the final drive in the second quarter through the halftime show, as the Falcons went three-and-out on their first possession. But it didn’t take long for Ryan to get back into the groove. On Atlanta’s second offensive series, after the defence stopped the Patriots from capitalizing on a good punt return by Julian Edelman, he hooked up with Taylor Gabriel on a couple big plays and Mohammed Sanu for another before tossing a screen to Coleman for a six-yard score that put the Falcons up 28-3. The Pats had them right where they wanted them, as it turned out.
NOT SO FAST
We woulda been smarter not to believe the Falcons had this one in the bag when they were up by 16 points with about six minutes to go. The most experienced Super Bowl team made things interesting when Dont’a Hightower jumped Ryan to force a fumble deep in Atlanta territory, and a couple of plays later Brady found Danny Amendola for a six-yard TD that, coupled with the successful two-point conversion, cut the lead to eight. The Falcons bounced back. As he did to start the night, Freeman bailed them out of a hole with a 39-yard reception, then Jones made a phenomenal reception on the sidelines to help get Atlanta into field goal position. But as has been the case all season, the Patriots D would bend, but not break. Another sack, this time by Trey Flowers, and a holding penalty moved the ball out of Matt Bryant’s range and gave Brady the one last chance he needed. Back-to-back field-long scoring drives, with a dramatic two-point catch by Amendola in between, turned what woulda been Atlanta’s first ever Super Bowl victory into another ring for Brady.
THE BEST EVER.
Who woulda guessed it? Not the outcome as much as how the story unfolded. The last drive catch Edelman made, in triple coverage with the ball staying off the ground only because it hit the ankle of a defender, has to supplant David Tyree’s helmet grab in 2008 as the best catch in Super Bowl history. Brady ended the debate over the best quarterback of all time by overcoming a 25-point deficit by passing for a Super Bowl record 466 yards to win his record fifth Super Bowl and being named the game’s MVP for a fourth time. And Bill Belichick must be considered the best coach of all after winning his fifth Super Bowl, one more than Chuck Noll. The comeback was one of, if not the, greatest in sports history, while the game itself has to be considered the best in Super Bowl history.