Defiant defense
Pats never lost faith, turned tide in 2nd half
HOUSTON — There might have been panic throughout New England when the Patriots walked off the field trailing 21-3 at halftime last night.
The Patriots defenders didn’t share that sentiment.
They managed to keep Matt Ryan in check the second half and rallied from a 25-point deficit to stun Atlanta in overtime, 34-28, to capture Super Bowl LI. The comeback was a Super Bowl record, yet the defensive players didn’t appear to be overly stunned by the rally.
“I’m sure there were a lot of television sets either turned off or changed to something else,” said safety Devin McCourty. “But this is a tough, resilient team and we knew 28 points wasn’t going to beat us.”
It appeared as though the Falcons were going to surpass 28 with ease. Matt Ryan was nearly perfect in the first half, completing 7-of-8 passes for 115 yards and one score, and running back Devonta Freeman ripped through the defense to the tune of 71 yards and a score on six carries.
Still, the players insisted there was no radical halftime adjustments. Patrick Chung said the formula was as simple as playing better over the final 30 minutes.
“We weren’t doing our job and we just started doing our job in the second half and played Patriot football,” Chung said. “We tried to play as consistent as possible and just do your job and trust the person playing next to you.”
Linebacker Dont’a Hightower set the tone on the first defensive play of the third quarter. He burst through the line and splattered Freeman for a 3-yard loss, leading to the Falcons’ first three-andout of the contest.
The Falcons did score on their next possession to extend the lead to 28-3 with 8:36 left in the third quarter. Linebacker Rob Ninkovich knew it was time to push the envelope, gambling on every down.
“We knew in the second half that we were going to have opportunities,” Ninkovich said. “There was that sense of urgency, knowing we needed three-and-outs, a fumble, a big play.”
The fumble came after Stephen Gostkowski’s 33-yard field goal narrowed the deficit to 28-12 with 9:44 left. Once again, it was the aggressive play of Hightower which made the difference. He sacked Ryan on a third-and-1, forcing a fumble which Alan Branch recovered on the 25, setting up Tom Brady’s touchdown pass to Danny Amendola.
The Patriots benefited by an overaggressive approach by the Falcons. A spectacular catch by Julio Jones give Atlanta a first down at the Patriots’ 22 with 4:40 left. Rather than run the ball three times and rely on kicker Matt Bryant to make it a two-score game, the Falcons tempted fate and were burned.
Trey Flowers sacked Ryan for a 12-yard loss on second down, then Jake Matthews was flagged for holding Chris Long, moving the ball back to the 45. Another incompletion forced a punt, giving Tom Brady one final chance to send the game into overtime.
“(Atlanta) is a great offensive team with a lot of weapons,” said Pats defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. “They had some success early on, but we were ready for them to come at us.”
This might have been the coming out party for Flowers, the second-year defensive lineman from Arkansas. He matched cornerback Logan Ryan for team-high honors with six tackles to go along with 2.5 sacks.
“A lot of people will be paying attention to Trey Flowers next year,” Branch said.
“He is going to be one of the better defensive linemen in the league.”