New England Patriots

Deion Jones is the most important player in Super Bowl 51

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:27 p.m. ET

Fansided, Michael Pallas/FanSided via The Jet Press

Super Bowl 51 is hours away, and there is a player not getting talked about who will be the most important player on the field Sunday, Deion Jones.

Going into Super Bowl 51, all the talk has been about the Falcons’ No. 1 ranked scoring offense vs. the New England Patriots’ No. 1 scoring defense. We all know the numbers by now. The No. 1 defense has won four out of the five matchups in Super Bowl history.

There is one question asked everywhere. What kind of game plan is head coach Bill Belichick going to devise to stop the all the weapons on the Falcons?

When it comes to the MVP debate, it comes down to Matt Ryan, Julio Jones or Tom Brady. To be honest, that is the right debate. With all that being said, linebacker Deion Jones, Ryan, Mohamed Sanu, Tevin Coleman, Devonta Freeman, Brady, Julian Edelman and anyone on the Patriots defense won’t be the most important player on the field on Sunday. Lewis will be the guy, even though he won’t win the MVP.

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The Patriots had 72 punts, 93 kickoffs, lost nine fumbles and threw two interceptions (both by Brady) in the entire regular season. Not a single one of those was returned for six points by their opponents.

Jones was the leading tackler for the Falcons with 106, and he led the team in interceptions with three of them. The most important stat is that he returned two of those interceptions for touchdowns, which could prove to be an edge heading into the Super Bowl.

Brady will have to do everything he can to keep the ball out the hands of Jones. Jones is tied for second on the team in tackles in the postseason, and he already has an interception.

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When you look at the Falcons injury report, eight defensive players are on injured reserve, and someone had to step up in their absence. Jones did, and he will be a big reason the Falcons win if they end up on top at the end of the big game.