Super Bowl LI, 2017: New England 34 Atlanta 28

Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Atlanta Falcons, 34–28. Super Bowl LI featured the largest comeback in Super Bowl history, with the Patriots overcoming a 28–3 deficit to emerge victorious. Due to the comeback, the game is nicknamed "28–3". The game was also the first Super Bowl to be decided in overtime.

The Patriots' victory was their fifth, moving them into a three-way tie with the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers for the second-most Super Bowl wins. After finishing the regular season with a league-best 14–2 record, New England advanced to their record-setting ninth Super Bowl appearance and their seventh under the leadership of head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. The Falcons, led by the league's top offense and MVP quarterback Matt Ryan, finished the regular season with an 11–5 record and were seeking their first Super Bowl title in their second appearance.

Atlanta scored three consecutive touchdowns to take a 21–3 halftime lead, which they increased to 28–3 midway through the third quarter. However, the Patriots scored 25 consecutive points to tie the game in the final seconds of regulation. In overtime, New England received the kickoff after winning the coin toss and scored a touchdown to claim the title. More than 30 team and individual Super Bowl records were broken or matched, including Patriots running back James White's 14 receptions and 20 points scored, and Brady's 43 completed passes, 62 pass attempts, and 466 passing yards. Brady was named Super Bowl MVP for a record fourth time and was the oldest player to receive the honor at 39; he would surpass both records in Super Bowl LV.

Fox's broadcast of the game averaged around 111.3 million viewers, slightly down from the 111.9 million viewers of the previous year's Super Bowl. In contrast, the total number of viewers for all or part of the game hit a record number of 172 million. Average television viewership for the halftime show, headlined by Lady Gaga, was higher at 117.5 million. Several media outlets regard the game as the greatest Super Bowl of all time. NFL.com's "100 Greatest Games" ranked it the ninth-greatest game and the fourth-highest among Super Bowls.

Game summary
First half
The first quarter of Super Bowl LI was scoreless, with each team punting twice. The longest play from scrimmage was a 37-yard run by Falcons running back Devonta Freeman. Although this run did not lead to any points, it was the longest rushing play of the game for either team.

On the first play of the second quarter, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady completed a 27-yard pass to wide receiver Julian Edelman on the Falcons 33-yard line. But on the next play, linebacker Deion Jones stripped the ball from running back LeGarrette Blount, and cornerback Robert Alford recovered the fumble on the 29-yard line. On the next two plays, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan completed passes to Julio Jones for gains of 19 and 23 yards. Freeman ran the ball on the next three plays, covering the remaining 29 yards to the end zone, with the last carry being a 5-yard touchdown run that put Atlanta on the board first with a 7–0 lead.

New England failed to get a first down on the series following the Freeman score, and the Falcons moved the ball 62 yards in five plays. Ryan started the drive with a 24-yard completion to Taylor Gabriel, then completed a pass to Jones for an 18-yard gain. On 3rd-and-9, he threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Austin Hooper, giving the Falcons a 14–0 lead. It was the largest deficit Brady had ever faced in his seven Super Bowl appearances, and it would soon grow larger.

New England responded with a drive to the Falcons' 23, aided by three defensive holding penalties against the Atlanta defense, each one giving them a first down on a third down play. However, on 3rd-and-6, Brady threw a pass that was intercepted and returned 82 yards for a touchdown by Alford, increasing Atlanta's lead to 21–0. It was the first time in his career that Brady had thrown a pick six in his 33 postseason games, and Alford's 82-yard return was the second longest interception return in Super Bowl history.

Getting the ball back with 2:20 left in the second quarter, Brady completed a 15-yard pass to Martellus Bennett, and then a short pass to running back James White, who took off for a 28-yard gain. The drive stalled at the Falcons 20-yard line, but Stephen Gostkowski successfully kicked a field goal with two seconds left on the clock to send the teams into their respective locker rooms at halftime with the score 21–3.

Second half
New England had an early third quarter scoring opportunity when Edelman returned a punt 26 yards to the Patriots' 47-yard line, but they could not gain a first down on the drive. Following the Patriots' punt, the Falcons started their drive on their own 15-yard line; Ryan completed two long passes to wide receiver Taylor Gabriel for gains of 17 and 35 yards to bring the ball to the New England 28-yard line. Four plays later, Ryan finished the 85-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to running back Tevin Coleman, giving the Falcons a 28–3 lead with 8:31 left in the quarter.

On the next series, Brady led the Patriots 75 yards in 13 plays for an answering touchdown, completing five of seven passes for 43 yards, the longest a 17-yard completion to Danny Amendola on 4th-and-3 from the New England 46-yard line. Brady, not known for running the ball, also ran for a 15-yard gain (the longest rushing play by the Patriots that day) on 3rd-and-8 from the Atlanta 35-yard line. Three subsequent carries by Blount moved the ball 15 yards to the 5-yard line, and then Brady threw the ball to White for a touchdown. Gostkowski missed the extra point, the ball hitting the goalpost, leaving the score 28–9.

New England then attempted an onside kick, but the ball was recovered by Falcons linebacker LaRoy Reynolds, and a penalty against Gostkowski for touching the ball before it went ten yards gave Atlanta even better field position. Ryan completed a 9-yard pass to Hooper to the Patriots 32-yard-line, but on the next play, a holding penalty on Atlanta tackle Jake Matthews pushed the team back ten yards. Then, after an incompletion, Trey Flowers and Kyle Van Noy shared a sack on Ryan that forced the Falcons to punt on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Matt Bosher's 42-yard punt pinned the Patriots back on their own 13-yard line. Brady led the next drive down the field, completing three passes to wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell for 40 yards and one to Bennett for 25 to bring the ball to the Falcons 7-yard line. However, Brady was sacked twice by defensive tackle Grady Jarrett over the next three plays. The Patriots had to settle for a field goal – Gostkowski's 33-yard attempt was good. This cut their deficit to 28–12, with less than 10 minutes left in the game. Atlanta had used two of their three time outs on defense and equipment malfunction.

On the third play of Atlanta's ensuing drive, Freeman missed his blocking assignment on a New England blitz that allowed linebacker Dont'a Hightower to sack Ryan as he was winding up for a pass, resulting in a fumble that was recovered by defensive tackle Alan Branch on the Falcons 25-yard line. It was Ryan's first turnover in two months.[24] New England soon cashed in their scoring opportunity, with Brady throwing a 6-yard touchdown pass to Amendola. White then took a direct snap in for a two-point conversion to make the score 28–20 in favor of Atlanta with 5:56 left on the clock.

On the first play of Atlanta's next possession, Freeman caught a short pass from Ryan and ran it for a 39-yard gain, the longest play of the game for either team. Then on 2nd-and-9 from the Patriots 49-yard line, Ryan threw a deep pass to Jones, who made an acrobatic catch at the right sideline for a 27-yard gain, giving the Falcons a first down on the Patriots 22-yard line with 4:40 left on the clock and a chance for a late-game two-score lead that would have clinched the game. On the next play, Freeman ran for a 1-yard loss on a tackle by Devin McCourty. Atlanta tried to pass the ball on second down, but Flowers sacked Ryan for a 12-yard loss on the Patriots 35-yard line. Ryan then completed a 9-yard pass to Mohamed Sanu on 3rd-and-23 to get back into field goal range, but this was nullified by an offensive holding penalty on Matthews. Now out of field goal range and faced with 3rd-and-33 from the New England 45-yard line, Ryan threw an incomplete pass, and the team was forced to punt the ball to New England.

Bosher's 36-yard kick gave the Patriots the ball on their own 9-yard line with 3:30 left on the clock and two of their timeouts left. After two incompletions, Brady picked up a first down with a 16-yard pass to Chris Hogan. After an 11-yard pass to Mitchell, Brady threw a pass that was nearly intercepted by Alford. Instead, he batted the ball in the air, and it fell into the arms of Edelman, who made a diving catch as it bounced off Alford's shoe. Edelman just barely managed to get his hands under the ball before it hit the ground, securing the football for what would be ruled as a 23-yard pass completion. Atlanta challenged the on-field ruling, but referee Carl Cheffers announced that the call stood, and Atlanta was charged with their final timeout.

Brady's next pass to Amendola gained 20 yards to the Falcons' 21-yard line as the clock ran down below the two-minute warning. Two more passes to White gained 20 yards and gave New England a first down at the 1-yard line. With 58 seconds left, White scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, and Brady completed a two-point conversion pass to Amendola, tying the score at 28 points apiece, thereby coming back from a 25-point deficit.

With the hopes of winning their first championship on the line, Atlanta started their drive deep in their own end with just under a minute and no timeouts. The Falcons failed to get in range to score a possible game-winning field goal and punted, with the Patriots fair catching the ball at their own 35-yard line. The Patriots considered attempting a fair catch kick, which would be the first ever attempted in a Super Bowl. Instead, New England attempted a fake quarterback kneel running play for Dion Lewis, who gained several yards but failed to score. This ended the fourth quarter and forced the game into overtime, the first ever Super Bowl to go to overtime, and the first NFL title game to do so since the 1958 meeting between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants.

Overtime
The Patriots won the coin toss to start overtime, and elected to receive the ball. Starting at their 25-yard line after a touchback, Brady completed passes to White, Amendola, and Hogan for gains of 6, 14, and 18 yards, respectively. Then, after White was dropped for a 3-yard loss, Brady completed a 15-yard pass to Edelman to the Falcons' 25-yard line. White then took a lateral throw from Brady to the 15-yard line.

Brady's pass to Bennett in the end zone fell incomplete, but Falcons linebacker De'Vondre Campbell was called for pass interference, giving the Patriots first-and-goal from the Falcons' 2-yard line. On first down, Brady threw another incomplete pass to Bennett that was deflected and nearly intercepted by Vic Beasley. On second down, White took a pitch and ran the ball right. He was hit by Falcons defenders at the 1-yard line but managed to stretch forward and get the ball across the goal line before his knee hit the ground, scoring the winning touchdown.

The Patriots won the game 34–28 for their fifth Super Bowl title after trailing by 25 points. It also marked the first time in NFL postseason history that a team leading by 17 points or more at the start of the fourth quarter went on to lose the game. Previously, dating back to 1940, teams leading by 17 or more points after three quarters in playoff games were 133–0 in such situations.

Statistics and records
Super Bowl LI had more than 30 records either broken or tied by the time it was finished. Brady completed 43 of 62 passes for 466 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception, while also rushing for 15 yards. His completions, attempts, and passing yards were all single-game Super Bowl records. Brady ultimately became the first quarterback to win a Super Bowl in which he threw a ball that was intercepted for a touchdown. He also set the career Super Bowl records for games played (7), completions (207), attempts (309), yards (2,071), and touchdown passes (15). James White caught a Super Bowl record 14 passes for 110 yards, rushed for 29 yards, and tied a Super Bowl record with three touchdowns. He also set the record for most points scored with 20. After the game, Brady said he felt White deserved the MVP award more than he did. Brady planned to give White the vehicle that has traditionally been awarded to Super Bowl MVPs (he'd given the truck he received after Super Bowl XLIX to Malcolm Butler) but found out after the game that there was no vehicle to give to White because the sponsor had decided to end its practice of donating one. Edelman caught five passes for 87 yards and returned three punts for 39 yards. Amendola recorded eight receptions for 78 yards and one touchdown. Flowers recorded six tackles and 2.5 sacks. The Patriots overall gained an NFL postseason record 37 first downs in the game.

For Atlanta, Ryan completed 17 of 23 passes for 284 yards and two touchdowns. Freeman was the top rusher of the game with 11 carries for 75 yards and a touchdown, while also catching two passes for 46 yards. Jones was Atlanta's leading receiver with four receptions for 87 yards. Robert Alford had 11 tackles (9 solo), an interception returned for a touchdown, and a fumble recovery. Grady Jarrett had five tackles and tied a Super Bowl record with three sacks.

Atlanta became the first team in Super Bowl history to return an interception for a touchdown and lose the game. Prior to Super Bowl LI, teams returning an interception for a touchdown in the Super Bowl had been a perfect 12–0. New England had two turnovers for the game, while Atlanta only turned the ball over once. This made New England the fifth team to win a Super Bowl despite losing the turnover battle, joining the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V, the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowls XIV and XL, and the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX.

The game set the record for the largest deficit overcome to win the Super Bowl (the previous record was ten points, set by the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XXII and matched by the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV and by the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX); it is the third-largest comeback win in NFL playoff history, behind The Comeback (32-point deficit; Buffalo Bills trailed 35–3 and won 41–38) and the wild card game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Kansas City Chiefs during the 2013–14 NFL playoffs (28-point deficit; Colts trailed 38–10 and won, 45–44). In addition to being the largest Super Bowl comeback, the game set the record for the largest fourth-quarter comeback in NFL playoff history, as no team had previously won a playoff game after trailing by 17 or more points entering the final quarter; the Patriots were trailing by 19 points at the start of the fourth quarter by a score of 28–9. The Patriots won their fifth franchise championship, all under the leadership of starting quarterback Tom Brady, the most by a single quarterback. Brady won his fourth Super Bowl MVP, the most such awards by a single player in history. This game represented the largest comeback in the history of the New England Patriots' regular season or post-season games, and Tom Brady's NFL career.

Super Bowl LI became the first Super Bowl in history in which the winning team had never held the lead at any point during regulation time, and it also became the first Super Bowl in history in which the winning team did not score on a PAT kick, as the Patriots missed their only PAT attempt during the game, which occurred following their first touchdown, opted for two-point conversions after each of their next two touchdowns, and did not have to attempt the extra point after their game-winning touchdown in overtime.

Late in the third quarter, the Falcons' chances of winning were estimated at 99.8%.

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