Pats Posits: Saving Their Best for Probably-Not-Their Last

In their most thrilling Super Bowl yet, the New England Patriots came back from 25 points to beat the Atlanta Falcons in overtime, 34-28, cementing Tom Brady and Bill Belichick’s place as the greatest Coach-QB duo in history.

A ton of new records were set or tied, including Most Super Bowls Won by a Head Coach (Bill Belichick, 5) Most Super Bowl Games (Tom Brady/Belichick, 7), most receptions (James White, 14), and Largest Deficit Overcome (25 points).

It’s taken me hours to wrap my head around this incredible victory and who knows how long it will take to fully grasp what unfolded. I never would’ve thought Brady’s performance in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 49 could be topped, but topped it was. But not before I had just about thrown in the towel.

At 28-3 in the middle of the third quarter, I dug into what I had hoped would be my Super Bowl victory cake. I was resigned that the Pats just met up with a red hot Falcons team and played their worst game of the season. Maybe they were bound to get blown out in one?

But like they always do, the Patriots never flinched. Once they cleaned up the mistakes — drops, ill-timed penalties and worst of all, turnovers — and figured out the Falcons’ coverage, Brady moved the ball at will.

Most impressive was that the legendary comeback was such a group effort. So many guys came through with clutch plays — White, Edelman, Hightower and Flowers are just three that jump out to me right away, but it was a team comeback, as much as it was Brady’s brilliance.

I can and will write thousands of words about this game, so let’s get a jump on all the analysis to come with the Posits.

Overall

— I was shocked by the sloppy start. Penalties/Drops/Giveaways are the fastest way to lose a football game and that’s the track the Patriots were clearly on for two-thirds of the game. The Falcons just looked like they were playing on another level. Even Edelman said that their defensive approach to play Man defense surprised the Patriots. Blount never got started, Lewis was strangely missing in action. Brady was holding the ball and it felt distinctly like one of the previous Super Bowl losses.

— A 25-point deficit in the third quarter. I can’t wrap my head around it. And Mark Wahlberg sure couldn’t either, as he was spotted ducking out well before the comeback started. One thing I can’t believe is how anyone would ever give up on a Tom Brady game at this point? After all the crazy shit he’s pulled off? I saw his throw two touchdowns with under five minutes to beat the Bills. Well he just saved his craziest for the Super Bowl, and this game will likely be the crowning moment in Brady’s career. Unless he tops it next year, which at this point I’m definitely not ruling out.

I’m pretty sure he’s already thinking about “three outta four, twice.”

— It’s hard to believe this was the largest margin of victory in a Super Bowl for the Patriots. It sure didn’t feel like it!

— The Falcons came in with a great gameplan and executed extremely well for two-thirds of the game. But there was nothing Matt Ryan could do but watch the final two drives Brady put together. The Atlanta defense was gassed with Brady and McDaniels locked in on what they were doing.

— The last thing I wanted was for them to come back only to lose it. That would’ve been worse than getting blown out. Thank Hoodie Matthew Slater called heads and they never gave Ryan-Julio another chance.

— Those Super Bowl losses to the Giants sure seem far away now, eh?

— The biggest mystery of the game though? Why Belichick ripped the flying elvis off the Hot Jacket for the game? If anything there’s usually a new Super Bowl logo on his garb. This time he takes off even the Patriots’ logo? I don’t get it. But the fact remains that’s the hot jacket, which gets it’s first Super Bowl title. It’s quickly become second only to the infamous gray hoodie as BB fave. But now that it’s defaced can it continue? Probably.

Offense

— James White proved so much to me. I’ve always seen him as a one-trick receiving back, but it’s kind of hard to call him that when he scores a Super Bowl-winning touchdown on a goal line carry. White was one of the few who showed up in the first half, and no one was more important in the biggest moments. Glad to say I was wrong about White, who stepped up while Lewis and Blount were slowed.

— I am kind of confused what happened to Dion Lewis the last two games. After the fumbles against Houston, despite the kickoff return TD, he didn’t seem like the same player.

— The Patriots held the ball for 40 minutes and that was a huge factor in limiting the Atlanta offense. Complimentary football all around!

— Danny Amendola had a sneaky huge game, it’s almost as if the Patriots were literally saving him all season just for this one game. He had eight catches for 78 yards, a touchdown, a two-point conversion, and a fourth-down conversion. He had just 23 catches all season. Whatever the plan was with Amendola, it was the right one.

— The Edelman catch? What do we call it? The Shoe Catch? I couldn’t believe that moment, it was the requisite freaky catch, but this time IT WAS OUR GUY MAKING THE FREAKY CATCH!! Edelman was targeted 13 but had just five catches for 87 yards. He was strangely off-mark with Brady for much of the game. Still, this moment will go down in history, cancelling out the bad juju from Tyree’s helmet catch and Kearse’s Incomplete Catch.

— By overtime, Brady was just in full berserker mode and the Falcon defense was pretty much powerless to stop it. I did almost have a heart attack at the first goal line play that Vic Beasley got a hand on. Imagine if it was Brady getting picked on a goal line passing play this time? That was a scare.

— Did anyone else notice Matt Ryan’s headset went out just before the momentum all swung to New England? #PinkStripes

Defense

The defense gave up some big plays and there were plenty of moments where it felt like WE’RE GETTING EXPOSED!! Of course, it’s easy to feel that way against that offense. They made some ridiculous, undefendable plays. The D took some hits, but they gave plenty too, especially in crunch time. They gave up one touchdown in the second half and it was goodnight dirty birds.

— The good stats: 284 yards passing, 104 yards rushing, 1-8 on third down!! I think we’d all take those stats against that offense. The pass rush was a big plus in this game, especially on critical third downs.

— The bad stats: 3-3 Red Zone, Big Plays of 39, 37, 35, and 27 yards. Big plays were inevitable against that offense, but overall the tackling was sufficient and that minimized the damage.

— The turning point? Forcing a punt after the Patriots, down 28-9, lost an onside kick and gave the Falcons back the ball with good field position. That punt was the crucial stop that kept the small glimmer of hope alive.

After a Patriots field goal cut it to 28-12, Dont’a Hightower strip-sacked Ryan, setting the Patriots up on the Falcons’ 25. The offense would deliver, and make it a one-score game, 28-20. The punt and takeaway turned the tide, but they needed to come through a third time.

The next defensive stand will go down in my Patriots Defensive History Books. There’s under six minutes to go in the game, the Patriots are down by eight, 28-20. The game is hanging by a thread. A field goal probably ends it.

The Falcons hit passes of 39 and 27 yards, making it all the way to the Patriots’ 22-yard-line with 4:40 remaining. The game is pretty much over for the Patriots at this point until…

• 1st down, McCourty tackle for a one-yard loss.
• 2nd down, Trey Flowers sacks Ryan for a 12-yard loss.
• 3rd down, Chris Long draws a holding penalty, 10-yard loss.

The third-and-33 pass falls incomplete and the Falcons are now punting from the New England 45.

That’s a defense that willed the offense back out of scoring range. They pushed back 23 yards and saved the game.

— Trey Flowers had five QB hits and 2.5 sacks, none bigger than his second-down takedown of Ryan on that final drive. I thought that this might be a coming-out party for Flowers and it was one of the few things I was right about.

— The defense had 12 QB hits and five sacks, leaving me to wonder — WHERE WAS THAT ALL SEASON???? Well, I’m sure glad they showed up now. The pass rush got pressure on third down, a big part of why they allowed just one third-down conversion all game.

— I’m done hearing anything about the 2016 Patriots defense being overrated or whatever. They’re one of the best defenses in Patriots history. The Super Bowl losses came down to not being able to get a final stop. Malcolm Butler came through in 2014, but the defense as a whole stepped up in 2016.

They were an excellent team defense that tackled well and executed with the season on the line. With the Falcons a chip shot away from sealing the game, they exerted their will and handed Tom Brady one last chance to send it to overtime. Which he did. Complimentary football.

— Just grateful Gostkowski didn’t have to kick the extra point in OT for it to count. That missed field goal didn’t cost us this year like it did last year in the AFCCG, but I don’t think BB will shrug off Gost’s newfound inconsistency this offseason.

What Now

Get ready for another fun offseason! First, the parade on Tuesday, then later this summer the release of all the great NFL Films stuff, including yet another Three Games To Glory!! From now until opening night it will be all sunshine and rainbows in PatriotsLand! Well, at least until free agency starts in a few weeks.

This was one of then most amazing football games I’ve ever seen. I am amazed at how many key plays by so many different Patriots went into the comeback. It’s overwhelming to try and write about… what about Bennett and Chung, and Van Noy that one time, and Branch recovered the fumble, and so on…

Even with the Super Bowl win, the offseason is now inevitably here. We’ll be laid gently to rest in our offseason cocoons with plenty of Pats’ highlights and celebrations, but unfortunately, there’s no more football games to watch.

But now I celebrate with you, my fellow Pats fans around the world! I appreciate all the support you guys have shown me and the site. I wish we were all together celebrating now!

And you know, five Super Bowls are pretty awesome, but not as cool as SIX Super Bowls.

Now, back to watch it unfold again, just to make sure I’m not dreaming…