Brady leads Patriots to historic Super Bowl comeback
Houston – It looked like it was going to be a blowout. It looked like the Atlanta Falcons were going to win the franchise’s first Super Bowl. Tom Brady had other ideas.
Aided by one of the most improbable catches in NFL history, the New England quarterback orchestrated the biggest comeback of any Super Bowl, leading the Patriots (17-2) from 25 down to beat the Falcons in overtime of Super Bowl LI on Sunday, 34-28.
BOX SCORE: Patriots 34, Falcons 28 (OT)
Down eight in the closing minutes, Brady heaved a pass to Julian Edelman in triple coverage. As the players converged the ball bounced off a defender’s leg as Edelman dove to snag it just before it hit the ground. Four plays later, running back James White punched it in from a yard out and Brady connected with Danny Amendola for the tying two-point conversion with 2:03 remaining.
"He's laser-focused, and the entire time, there wasn't a time where we looked at Tom like he knew this thing was over," Patriots receiver Chris Hogan said. "There wasn't a doubt in my mind. We have one of the best quarterbacks that ever played the game."
White completed the epic comeback with a two-yard touchdown run in overtime.
No team had ever made up more than a 10-point deficit to win a Super Bowl. Brady led the Patriots on five straight scoring drives that equaled 31 straight points.
The game was supposed to a shootout, but for much of three quarters, it appeared only the Falcons brought a pistol to the duel.
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After a scoreless first quarter, Atlanta scored two quick touchdowns in the second.
After recovering a fumble in their own territory, the Falcons needed five plays to go 71 yards and open the scoring. Quarterback Matt Ryan, named the league’s MVP on Saturday night, found star receiver Julio Jones on back-to-back throws to start the drive and running back Davonte Freeman capped the series with runs of 14, nine and five. On the third touch, he took the shotgun handoff heading left, bounced hard around the edge and went untouched into the end zone.
Feeding off the energy of the score, the Falcons defense forced a three-and-out. Five plays later the offense was celebrating a second touchdown.
With Freeman running well and commanding the attention of the New England defense, Atlanta ran two play-action pass plays for gains of 24 and 18 yards. On third-and-9 from just inside the Patriots red zone, Ryan threaded a needle to rookie tight end Austin Hooper running a post route for a 19-yard scoring strike.
On the ensuing possession, the Patriots appeared prepared to answer, driving deep into Falcons territory, but on third-and-6 from the 23-yard line, pressure from veteran defensive end Dwight Freeney forced quarterback Brady to rush his throw. Falcons cornerback Robert Alford stepped in front of the intended target, intercepting the pass and returning it 82 yards to put Atlanta up 21-0.
It was the second longest interception return in Super Bowl history.
The Patriots finally got on the scoreboard at the end of the first half with a 41-yard Stephen Gostkowski field goal at the end of the half, sending the teams to the locker room with the score, 21-3.
The third quarter opened with the teams trading punts before Atlanta widened their advantage.
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Driving 85 yards in eight plays, Ryan connected with Taylor Gabriel for two big gains, including a 35-yard bomb down the center of the field after the speedy receiver twisted cornerback Malcolm Butler around with some fancy footwork to get wide open.
Butler was later flagged for a pass interference against Gabriel in the red zone on third down, setting up a six-yard pass from Ryan to running back Tevin Coleman, putting Atlanta up, 28-3.
The Patriots were finally able to score a touchdown of their own with a 13-play, 75-yard drive, which ate more than six minutes off the clock. Brady found Edelman for a 17-yard gain to convert a fourth-and-3 and the quarterback also scrambled for 15 yards on third-and-8, before hitting White for a 5-yard score.
Following a missed extra point and still down three scores, New England attempted an onside kick. They failed to recover, but it wouldn’t have mattered since Gostkowski illegally touched the ball before it traveled 10 yards.
Still, Atlanta (13-6) struggled to find a dagger and New England continued to chisel away. A 33-yard Gostkowski field goal with 9:48 remaining cut the lead to 16 and when linebacker Dont’a Hightower forced a turnover, jarring the ball loose from Ryan as he dropped back to pass on third down.
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With the short field, Brady completed four straight passes, finding Danny Amendola for a six-yard score. A two-point conversion made it 28-20 with six minutes on the clock.
Atlanta turned to its big guns as they looked to seal it. Freeman gained 39 yards on a screen and Jones made a jaw-dropping, toe-tapping grab along the sideline for 18 yard, but the team was driven out of field goal range by a Trey Flowers sack and a holding call.
Brady took the ball with six minutes remaining and drove the Patriots 91 yards for the tying score, as White punched it in from one yard out. Brady finished the game 43-of-62 with a Super Bowl record 466 passing yards.
The Patriots won the toss and never gave a Falcons a chance to regain the lead. Brady completed five consecutive passes to start the drive before a pass interference call against the Falcons gave the Patriots first-and-goal from the 2. Two plays later White took it around the right edge for the game winner.
With the victory, Brady became the first quarterback in NFL history to win five Super Bowl rings.
"At halftime, I would say we weren't down at all," said Brady, who won his fourth Super Bowl MVP award. "We were disappointed in the way we played, and we knew that we could go out and do a lot better in the second half."
jdrogers@detnews.com
Twitter: @justin_rogers
The Associated Press contributed to this report.