JAW- DROPPING WIN FOR BRADY.
Dramatic championship made history
Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have won one for the thumb. In t he most belief- defying, jaw- dropping win of their 17-year association.
That is, they won their fifth diamond- laced Super Bowl champion’s ring with the New England Patriots — in one of the most dramatic NFL championship games ever played. And in the first overtime game in Super Bowl history.
New England thus defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34-28.
Brady was named MVP for a record fourth time.
The Pats somehow overcame a 28- 3 deficit late in the third quarter, to outscore three touchdowns, a pair of two- point conversions and a field goal to send the game into OT. The last scores came with 57 seconds left, a one- yard James White plunge followed by a quick Brady twopoint conversion throw to Danny Amendola.
In overtime, New England won the toss — calling heads as they always do — and marched 75 yards in eight plays for the win. White took a pitchout right from Brady and lunged over the goal line.
Brady set Super Bowl records for passing yards ( 466) and completions ( 43) in his 62 attempts. He threw for two TDs.
New England’s comeback was by far the biggest in Super Bowl history. No team previously had overcome a seven-point halftime deficit.
The win ruined an insanely good performance over the first three quarters by the Falcons.
In OT, Brady moved the Patriots into Atlanta territory on an 18- yard deep comebacker left to Chris Hogan. That put the ball at the Atlanta 37. A swing pass to White lost three yards, then Brady hit receiver Juli an Edelman on a deep crosser for 15.
Brady threw a screen pass to White for 10 more.
At the Atlanta 15, Brady lobbed a pass into the end zone to tight end Martell us Bennett. Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell broke it up but was called for pass interference.
In I- formation from the two- yard line, Brady lobbed a pass into the far right end of the end zone but linebacker Vic Beasley Jr. made a great play to break it up.
But on t he next play White took a pitchout right, broke a couple of tackles and reached over for the touchdown.
After a scoreless first quarter, Atlanta — a threepoint underdog — jumped out to a 21- 3 halftime lead, extended it to 28- 3 early in the second half, then watched it all fall apart.
Regular-season MVP Matt Ryan, the Falcons’ QB, raised his game to an ever higher level on this night, to no avail. And thanks in part to the determined running of Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, who combined for 86 first-half yards, mostly around end, Atlanta looked like a lock to win the franchise’s first NFL championship or Super Bowl.
The Falcons’ young, ferocious, fast defence controlled the game through two- and- a- half quarters before tiring.
Up front, the Falcons’ pass rush absolutely ate up the Patriots’ highly regarded offensive line early on — and beat the crap out of Tom Brady. Rookie tackle Grady Jarrett tied a Super Bowl record with three of Atlanta’s five sacks.
As a whole, the Falcons’ front- seven pressured, walloped and rattled Brady as has seldom been seen in the 39-year-old’s 17-year career.
And in the secondary, Atlanta’s collection of mostly r ookie and s econd- year players played more manto- man coverage than expected and rattled Patriots receivers almost as much as Brady.
Pats receivers dropped passes early on with Falcons defenders ever on their hip, with Falcons defenders’ arms ever swatting at their intended throws.
It was the ‘ old man’ of Atlanta’s secondary, fourthyear cornerback Robert Alford — the only one of eight who dressed with more than two years of NFL experience — who broke the game open 2:21 before halftime.
Brady, on third and six from the Atlanta 23, and clearly rattled now after two sacks and numerous hits and hurries, threw the ball i n apparent desperation on a short slant route that either Brady misfired on, or a receiver mis-ran.
The errant ball stuck into the gut of Alford on the leftside numbers, at his 18-yard line, and he caught it.
Alford only had to beat the slow- footed Brady to make it to the right sideline and take it to the house the other way. Brady dived at him but didn’ t come anywhere close, and the 28- year- old corner sprinted, then coasted, 82 yards for the game-busting score.
Alford’s was the second longest interception return in Super Bowl history, after James Harrison’s famous 100-yard pick-six eight years ago in Pittsburgh’s 27-23 defeat of Arizona.
The Falcons offence had run only 17 plays to that point, punting on both firstquarter possessions and scoring touchdowns on a pair of lightning- fast fiveyard drives earlier in the second.
For the rest of the game, Brady and the Pats were forced to play catchup. And finally caught fire late in the third quarter.
To see Brady beat up as he was like that in the first half was stunning.
According to multiple analytics websites, Brady was pressured on 13 of his 27 first- half dropbacks — an incredible statistic. FOX reported he was hit 11 times and knocked down seven times with 18 seconds to go before halftime. ESPN said Brady had never been hit more than 14 times in any previous Super Bowl over four quarters, let alone before the half.
You couldn’t blame Ryan. Through three quarters he completed 13- of-16 for 202 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions for a statistically perfect 158.3 passer rating.
After a pair of three- andouts to start the second half, the Falcons offence — one of the most prolific in league annals in the regular season — flexed all of its powerful muscles.
In e i ght pl ays, Ryan piloted the Falcons 85 yards, hitting his swift backup running back Coleman on a swing pass for the touchdown and a 28-3 lead.
Brady and the Patriots finally scored their first touchdown but it took more than six minutes, and Stephen Gostkowski missed the extra point. Brady hit running back White on a five-yarder for the score that narrowed Atlanta’s lead to 28-9.