History Made at Super Bowl 51: The Patriots Cap Off Incredible Comeback to Defeat the Atlanta Falcons

Houston, Texas – In the final and most important game of the 2016-17 NFL season, the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons squared off at NRG Stadium to determine which team would hoist the legendary, coveted Lombardi Trophy. For the Patriots, it would be the fifth championship in franchise history, all thanks to the greatness of quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick, ever since they first arrived in New England in the year 2000.For the Falcons, it would be the first championship in the franchise’s long history, and the city of Atlanta’s second-ever sports championship. This was expected to be a great game.

However, for the first three-quarters, it appeared that the Falcons would take home the silver, coveted Lombardi Trophy. The New England offense was out of sync, and turnovers from running back LaGarrette Blount and star quarterback Tom Brady seemed to indicate that this game would be over in a flash. Yet, when the fourth quarter came around, the Patriots came out hard, scoring 25-consecutive points to force overtime(ultimately winning on tailback James White’s two-yard touchdown run) and shut down the high-flying Atlanta offense to finish off an unbelievable, historic comeback in Super Bowl history: No team had ever trailed by double-digit points and rallied to win the championship.

However, there were a couple of important factors that were in play in this game. First, in its entire 51-year history of existence, the Atlanta Falcons had appeared in only ONE Super Bowl: the 1999 Super Bowl against John Elway and the Denver Broncos(they lost that one also). It had been 18 years since the Falcons appeared in the big game, and none of the players on the current roster had experienced this type of high-energy environment.This factor played right into New England’s hands in the fourth quarter, because the experience of Brady and Belichick(they already won four championships leading up to this one) was too much for the young Atlanta defense to handle. It was the classic case of, “been there, done that” for the New England Patriots. It paid to have experience on the team. In addition to Brady, the other players who have appeared in Super Bowls include wide receiver Julian Edelman, linebackers Rob Ninkovich and Donte Hightower, and defensive backs Devin McCourty, Logan Ryan, Patrick Chung, and Malcolm Butler, the hero of Super Bowl XLIX.

In all, this year’s Super Bowl game was spectacular. Tom Brady reinforced his case of being one of, if not for being the greatest, quarterback in NFL history. With his 5 Super Bowl ring in 7 tries, he continues to prove his haters and critics wrong. Bill Belichick has done a terrific job of assembling the cast of characters surrounding his star QB. These were not big names(to name a few: wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell, running back James White, tight end Martellus Bennett, etc.), but they each played a vital role in delivering the New England Patriots yet another championship to their passionate and supportive fans from all over the USA. Don’t be surprised at all if you see this team in next season’s Super Bowl, whoever they play. The organization has set a high but strict standard, and the players have taken to it big time.