Patriots
“This is unequivocally the sweetest.”
Somehow, it’s been five years since the Patriots stunned the Falcons and the sports world in Super Bowl LI.
On Feb. 5, 2017, they pulled off the most astonishing comeback in NFL history, rallying to earn a 34-28 win after trailing 28-3 with 2:08 left in the third quarter.
It’s a game Patriots fans either remember as one of their favorites ever or one they’ve kicked themselves about ever since because they went to bed early.
Feeling a little gloomy now that the Patriots aren’t playing in the Super Bowl, Tom Brady has retired, and the weather is bleak? Here’s a look back at how that night unfolded:
It was all Falcons early.
Everyone remembers that it was 28-3, but it’s worth noting how it reached that point. Neither side scored in the first quarter, then the Falcons exploded for 21 straight points in a span of less than 10 minutes in the second.
Devonta Freeman and Austin Hooper both scored, then Robert Alford returned an interception 82 yards to the house. Stephen Gostkowski kicked a field goal with two seconds left in the half to make it 21-3, then Matt Ryan hit Tevin Coleman for a score to extend the margin to 28-3 with 8:31 remaining in the third.
The Boston Globe printed an initial batch of papers with the headline “A BITTER END,” and many were delivered to houses. Brady is pictured hunched over on the ground in disbelief as Alford cruises to the end zone. That was supposed to be the lasting image, but it was far from it.
They gradually started to make some noise.
The comeback began in earnest with 4:47 left in the third, when Brady showed off his speed on third and 8 and picked up a key first down. He then found the eventual hero, James White, for a 5-yard score, but Gostkowski missed the extra point, so it was 28-9 with 2:06 left in the quarter.
The Patriots quickly forced a Falcons punt, then Malcolm Mitchell helped set up a Gostkowski field goal that made it a two-score game, at 28-12, with 9:44 remaining. At that point, a comeback was still highly improbable, but it did seem possible.
Then came absolute chaos.
One of the most pivotal plays of the night came on third and 1 from the Atlanta 36, when Dont’a Hightower pummeled Ryan to force a fumble and Alan Branch swooped in for the recovery with 8:31 to go.
Brady found Danny Amendola two and a half minutes later for a 6-yard strike, and White ran it in for two. That trimmed the margin to 28-20 with 5:56 left, and all the Patriots needed was a stop to have one more shot.
The Falcons gained 39 yards on a pass to Freeman, then picked up another first down on a 27-yard grab from Julio Jones, but Trey Flowers came up with a key sack on second down, the Falcons were called for holding, then Atlanta had to punt on fourth and 33.
The Patriots took over with 3:30 remaining and embarked on one of the more memorable drives in franchise history. Brady hit Chris Hogan for 25 on third and 10 and Mitchell for 11, then Julian Edelman reeled in a spectacular grab — while surrounded by three Falcons — that still stands in Patriots lore.
Brady found Amendola for 20 yards and White for 13 and 7, then White rushed it in from 1 yard out with 57 seconds left and Amendola barely found the end zone a 2-point conversion to send the game to overtime.
They finished what they started in dramatic fashion.
The Patriots started overtime with the ball after Matthew Slater called heads, and — sorry, Josh Allen — the result seemed inevitable at that point. Brady found White for 6, Amendola for 14, Hogan for 18, and Edelman for 15, then White bulldozed his way into the end zone to seal the scintillating comeback.
Brady finished 43-for-62 for 466 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. White racked up 14 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown, plus six carries for 29 yards, two TDs, and a 2-point conversion. Flowers had six tackles, including 2.5 for a loss, and 2.5 sacks.
No team had ever overcome more than a 10-point deficit to win the Super Bowl. The Patriots rallied from down 25 late in the third.
“This is unequivocally the sweetest,” owner Robert Kraft said.
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