Alford goes from Atlanta hero to collapse culprit

HOUSTON — It should have been a play that would never be forgotten in Atlanta. It was destined to be the sort of play that is part of Super Bowl lore.

Instead, Robert Alford’s 82-yard interception return for a touchdown, against the great Tom Brady, goes down as a footnote, a reminder of what was going so right until it all went so wrong.

Alford’s stunning secondquarter play put the Falcons ahead 21 points Sunday night and had that huge lead held up, Alford would have been hailed as a hero. It was the first playoff pick-six of Brady.

But it did not hold up in a remarkable 34-28 Patriots victory and comeback for the ages in Super Bowl LI inside NRG Stadium.

And, in a cruel reversal of fortunes, Alford failed to make a play late and instead was on the wrong end of a brilliant maneuver by Julian Edelman, prompting Alford to say “I couldn’t believe he caught it.’’

The furious Patriots comeback could have been ended by Alford, a 28-year-old, fourth-year cornerback, who got his hand on a Brady pass late in the fourth quarter and could have come away with another interception that would have sealed the game for the Falcons. He could not hold onto the ball and Edleman dove in for a remarkable catch off the deflection, grabbing the ball off Alford’s leg. The 23-yard reception set up the game-tying touchdown.

“It was a nice bat by me, I hit the ground, I was trying with everything in my will to get back up and at least make a play on it,” Alford said. “I thought that [Ricardo Allen] or one of my brothers would get it, but they all were battling for it and Edelman came down with it.”

This was not the way it was supposed to turn out for Alford.

The Patriots trailed 14-0 moving from their own 23yard line to the Atlanta 23. The Pats were already in field-goal range on thirdand-6. Brady looked for Danny Amendola and tried to squeeze the ball in, but Alford pounced.

Alford caught the ball in stride, moving forward, for a rare interception of Brady — he threw only two in 12 regular-season games. Once he secured the ball, Alford saw an open green field to his right. The only Patriots player with a shot at Alford was Brady, which really meant there was no shot at all. Brady’s dive at Alford came up painfully short and Alford coasted the rest of the way.