Top 10 playoff games of the Brady/Belichick era (Part 2)

1. Super Bowl LI vs. Atlanta Falcons

February 5, 2017

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Boxscore

Vegas Odds: Patriots -3.0

Coming in at No. 1 on the list, the greatest Super Bowl of all time, the only Super Bowl to ever go into overtime, and the best game you will probably ever see in your life.

28-3 will forever be ingrained in Patriots culture, from t-shirts to bragging rights. It was the iconic scoreboard deficit that began the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history – and maybe even in NFL history.

The Patriots started off extremely slow, not being able to generate much on offense; whereas the Falcons’ top-ranked offense had it going early on. It didn’t help that Brady threw a pick-six and that the only points the Patriots put up in the first half was a field goal right at the very end.

It was 21-3 at halftime. Then at 8:31 in the third quarter, the Falcons scored yet another touchdown, their final points of the game.

The famous Falcons’ 25-point lead lasted until there was just 2:12 in the third quarter, when Brady found Jame White for a five yard touchdown.

A Stephen Gostkowski field goal made it 28-13 with just under 10 minutes left to play, and on the next drive, Dont’a Hightower made a game-changing defensive play by strip-sacking Matt Ryan; the ball was recovered by the Patriots at the Atlanta 25 yard line.

This game featured some ridiculous catches by both teams, and one that almost was a dagger for the Falcons was a second and nine throw to Julio Jones, who made an incredible toe-touching grab on the sideline for a 27 yard gain. 

The Falcons were set up in field goal range but they inexplicably decided to call a series of passing plays. The decision immediately backfired after a Trey Flowers sack for a loss of 12 yards and then an offensive holding call knocked the team out of field goal range, forcing them to punt.

The Patriots started their next drive from their own nine yard line… and this was also the drive that featured a once-in-a-lifetime catch finally going for the Patriots and not against them.

Julian Edelman came up with one of the greatest catches you will ever see on a ball that was deflected by a Falcons defensive back. Defying physics and logic, Edelman somehow managed to lunge forward and secure the ball just inches before it hit the ground. The play kept the drive alive, and the Patriots ended up scoring and converting the two point conversion to tie the game at 28 and force OT.

Tom Brady was masterful in the fourth quarter, completing 16 of his 22 throws (72.7%) for 196 yards, a touchdown, and a completion for a two-point conversion.

Brady’s overtime drive was equally as impressive, where he completed five of his six pass attempts and set up James White on a toss right for the two yard touchdown.

It sealed the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, and earns the No. 1 spot on this list.