Super Bowl throwback: Reliving Patriots' stunning comeback vs Falcons down 28-3
The Atlanta Falcons may never live down what happened to them at the hands of the New England Patriots back in Super Bowl LI. Even a simple mention of the team's name leads to fans on social media dropping in a casual "28-3" reference.
That was the infamous lead blown by the Falcons to let Tom Brady add another legendary moment to his already amazing NFL resume. Let's take a look back at how it all played out as the teams prepare for a rematch Thursday night.
In honor of the Falcons vs. Patriots game tomorrow, throwback to the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history 🍿
(Via @NFL) https://t.co/0TDlFmDkSc
How the Falcons blew it against the Patriots
We can start right at the 28-3 lead because that is where the comeback story begins. Atlanta grabbed that margin midway through the third quarter on a Tevin Coleman touchdown. Brady was known for comebacks, but the Patriots just didn't seem to have it in this game.
But Brady kept his offense calm and led a touchdown drive that ended with a failed two-point conversion. The score was 28-9, and the Falcons responded by going three-and-out to finish the third quarter. That was not the ideal result, but the lead was still a great one.
All the Patriots could do on the next drive was kick a field goal to make it 28-12 with 9:44 remaining in the game. Could the Falcons finally build a long drive and ice the game either with a score or by running enough time off the clock? No, they could not.
Asked about what he remembers about the Patriots-Falcons Super Bowl
Matthew Judon: Everybody remains the screenshot of how much they were down... That's what this team is about - resilient, never dying, never saying never, it isn't over until it is.
Matt Ryan got sacked and fumbled on the third down, setting up the Patriots with a short field. Brady punched it in and, this time, was able to convert the two-point try. That made it 28-20 with 5:56 to go.
The collapse continued, as Kyle Shanahan could not direct his offense to run time off the clock. They faced a third-and-33 and managed to knock barely any time off the board with an incomplete pass. Falcons fans were screaming to run the ball, and that was when the panic set in.
In true Brady fashion, he marched 91 yards in just over two minutes and capped off the touchdown drive with another two-point conversion. That meant overtime and that all hope was lost for the Falcons.
The Patriots got the ball and scored within minutes, completing the comeback and giving the Falcons arguably the worst loss in Super Bowl history. All the Falcons had to do was score one more time or just run some time off the clock. But the simple aspects of the game eluded them, and a devasting loss was their result.