New England Patriots make ultimate comeback

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USA TODAY

Patriots running back James White rushes for the Super Bowl winning touchdown

Tanisha Singh, News Editor

 

On Feb. 5, the Atlanta Falcons faced the New England Patriots in a historic NFL title game at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. This game marked Atlanta’s second Super Bowl appearance, while for the Patriots, a team that has gone to seven Super Bowls and won five, it was a walk down memory lane.

The Atlanta team had around a 99.3 percent chance of winning at one point in the game, yet the New England Patriots made an unimaginable comeback decreasing the Falcons chance as the championship went on. For the first 59 minutes of the championship, the Falcons dominated the field and it seemed clear that the team was on a path to winning their first Super Bowl title; however, the game took many unexpected turns, leaving the final score unpredictable until the last seconds of the game.

The first quarter was uninteresting with an ending score of 0-0, but for Patriot fans seemed to be expected. This Super Bowl marked the seventh time in seven Super Bowls that Tom Brady did not score in the first quarter.

The game’s pace increased as the second quarter began. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and wide receiver Julio Jones scored the game’s first touchdown, making the score (7-0) in favor of Atlanta. Following the first touchdown, the Atlanta offense carried their momentum as the team scored two more touchdowns. Never in Super Bowl history has a team recovered from a 2 touchdown deficit, so for the Patriots to comeback seemed unimaginable. A field goal by Stephen Gotskowski earned the Patriots three points, but the final score of 21-3 in favor of the Falcons seemed to show a clear win for the Atlanta team by the end of the first half

As the third quarter began, the pace of the game heightened yet again as Matt Ryan scored another touchdown in the first five minutes using only eight plays. The Patriots finally came through with a touchdown of their own after 13 plays and a pass to running back James White. Towards the end of the quarter, the Falcons were in field goal range to close out the game, but Matt Ryan was sacked and Atlanta was pushed backed. The quarter ended with a score of 28-9.

As the fourth quarter rolled in, Falcons running back Tevin Coleman suffered an injury proving to be beneficial for the Patriots. New England quarterback Tom Brady and wide receiver Danny Amendola scored another touchdown with minutes left on the clock. In only 2 minutes and 33 seconds, the Patriots drove 91 yards and ended with a one yard touchdown from Patriots running back James White, ending regulation time with the score of 28-28. The championship went into overtime allowing the Patriots to take over and dominate the game. The Patriots luckily won the coin toss and went on to score the game-winning touchdown. The final score was (34-28) in favor of the Patriots.