It’s wild to think that five years ago today the greatest comeback in not just NFL, but in sports history occurred. Today marks half a decade since the Atlanta Falcons blew a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl against the Tom Brady and the Patriots.
Atlanta had a massive second quarter when they outscored New England 21-3 and then pushed their lead to 28-3 in the third. It seemed like the Falcons were going to cruise to victory as Matt Ryan and Devonta Freeman were tearing up the Pats defense and Keanu Neal and Robert Alford were making big plays vs Brady the the Pats offense.
But then, the Pats began to claw back. They cut the Falcons lead to 28-9 as the fourth quarter began. Then they scored sixteen unanswered points in the fourth pushing overtime.
The biggest play in the game came when Brady launched a pass to the middle of the field and in double coverage right before the ball skimmed the grass, Julian Edelman caressed it with his finger tips making the catch clenching a crucial first down.
In overtime with the score tied 28-28, the Patriots won the coin toss and drove down the field, capping the drive off with a toss to James White who walked into the end zone completing the 34-28 comeback. Should the OT rules change, yes. In this sense with a massive comeback occurring, I’ll let it slide.
It must be a brutal day every February 5th for Falcons fans when they have to either refrain from social media or grimace at the 28-3 scoreboard pictures on Twitter.