Atlanta Falcons

The Greatest Comeback Ever

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:29 p.m. ET

Sports Illustrated, Tim Rohan/Sports Illustrated via MMQB

HOUSTON — The ball hung in the air for less than a second, mere inches off the ground, lost in a mess of arms and legs belonging to four different players. The Patriots trailed by eight, with about 2:30 left in Super Bowl 51, when Tom Brady threw a prayer into triple coverage. Robert Alford, the Falcons’ cornerback who’d already returned a pick-six in this game, tipped it into the air. Two other defenders, Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen, dove for the ball. And somehow, someway, Julian Edelman came down with it for a 23-yard reception.

Step aside, David Tyree: This may have been the greatest catch in Super Bowl history.

It was certainly the greatest comeback.

Before the Falcons could comprehend what happened, the Patriots scored three plays later and added a two-point conversion to overcome a 25-point deficit and force the first overtime in Super Bowl history. After winning the coin toss, Brady marched the Patriots 75 yards in eight plays, a two-yard touchdown run by James White giving New England a 34-28 victory as red and blue confetti fell from the rafters at NRG Stadium.

The Falcons had led, 28-3, midway through the third quarter. They had league MVP, Matt Ryan, at quarterback. They had one of the best offensive minds in the NFL, Kyle Shanahan, calling their plays. They had one of the best athletes in the world, Julio Jones, at receiver. But the Falcons did not score the rest of the way. Brady, whose season began with a four-game suspension because of Deflategate, won his fifth Super Bowl title and was named the game’s MVP for the fourth time.

From the start, the Falcons’ defense wasn’t intimated. Seven of their key defensive players were first- or second-year players, and they played fast and unafraid. On the very first play of the game, De’Vondre Campbell, a rookie linebacker, popped Julian Edelman going over the middle. Deion Jones, another rookie linebacker, hit Edelman a little late out of bounds. Courtney Upshaw, a 27-year-old defensive end, bullied his blocker into Brady for a sack—one of the five times Brady was taken down in the game. Then Grady Jarrett, a 23-year-old, 300-pound defensive tackle, got free on a stunt, circled around, and body slammed Brady from behind for another sack.

The first quarter ended in a scoreless tie, with both offenses playing conservative, neither team having gained any real momentum. The Patriots opened the second quarter taking their first shot downfield. Brady moved in the pocket, bought time, and found Edelman for 27 yards as he released downfield. It looked like Brady would take control, and then the Falcons ripped the momentum back—literally. LeGarrette Blount, the Patriots’ bulldozer of a running back, had the ball ripped out by Deion Jones. The Falcons recovered and immediately turned to their star receiver, Julio Jones, who ran a crossing route, saw the pass coming in behind him, and wrestled the ball away from Logan Ryan for 19 yards. Then Jones ran a comeback route for another 23 yards.

The Patriots, under Belichick, had historically tried to neutralize the opposing team’s best player. If Belichick did that with the Falcons, though, Matt Ryan could simply go to one of his bevy of other capable receivers. His second receiver, Mohamed Sanu, had sure hands. His third receiver, Taylor Gabriel, is the fastest of them all. And his two running backs, Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, were each dangerous in both the passing and running games.

Once Jones got those two catches, the Patriots defense softened. Freeman ended that drive by walking into the end zone untouched, from five yards out. On the Falcons following drive, Jones made another spectacular catch, tapping his toes in bounds inches from the sideline, for another 18 yards. Then the Patriots decided to double-team Jones, and Ryan soon found Austin Hooper, a rookie tight end, on a seam route for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

No team had ever overcome a 14-point deficit to win a Super Bowl. At that point, though, you still couldn’t count out Brady. He had, of course, orchestrated game-winning drives in the fourth quarters of three other Super Bowls. This was his seventh Super Bowl, and if he won, he’d have the most titles of any quarterback all time, more his childhood hero, Joe Montana. He still had two and a half quarters to work with.

The next drive, Brady marched the Patriots down to the Falcons’ 23-yard line. Third down. Six yards to go. The ball snapped, and two receivers dragged outside, and Danny Amendola darted inside and sat down in the opening, with a defender on his back hip. Misdirection and a quick throw; it was a classic Patriots play. Brady saw the opening and fired the pass—and then Alford stepped in front, intercepted it and took off with no one in front of him. Brady, at 39 years old, turned and ran, too. He made it about 20 yards downfield, then he dove, fully extending his left arm, and tried slapping Alford’s foot. Brady whiffed, and Alford jogged the rest of the way for an 82-yard touchdown.

Arthur Blank, the Falcons’ owner, high-fived his friends and did a little dance in the owner’s box. Thirty-two minutes and nineteen seconds remained in Super Bowl 51, but the game already seemed decided. The Patriots soon went into halftime trailing, 21-3.

The Patriots’ mental mistakes, so uncharacteristic of a Bill Belichick-coached team, continued in the second half. Edelman dropped a catchable pass without getting hit, and Brady badly overthrew him again. Stephen Gostkowski, one of the best kickers in football, missed an extra point. And Malcolm Butler, the hero from the Patriots’ Super Bowl win two years ago, fell for a Taylor Gabriel fake so badly that he fell to the ground and allowed a 35-yard reception.

Ryan threw another touchdown pass to put them ahead 28-3 early in the third quarter, giving the Patriots their largest deficit since Week 4 of the 2014 season. But then the Falcons, playing in the franchise’s first Super Bowl since 1999, seemed to become complacent.

Something clicked for the Patriots in the fourth quarter, as it always seems to in the brightest of spotlights. First, Brady led a 12-play, 72- yard drive that resulted in a field goal. Then Dont’a Hightower blindsided Ryan and forced a fumble, and Brady tossed a touchdown pass less than two and a half minutes later. On the two-point conversion, Brady faked as if the snap were going over his head—a patented play the Patriots have used several times—and James White ran in, bringing the score to 28-20.

Ryan and Jones did their best to respond. With the ball at midfield, Ryan fired a pass to Jones on the sideline and he made another spectacular catch. Running toward the sideline, Jones planted his left foot, caught the pass at its highest point, and tapped his right foot down falling out of bounds. The Falcons were in field goal range, but then … Ryan took a sack and Jake Matthews, the left tackle, committed a holding penalty, and the Falcons had to punt.

That was their last best chance to win the game.

Edelman made his own spectacular catch on the next drive. Then about 30 minutes later, Brady was on the podium, with tears in his eyes, accepting the Lombardi Trophy.

“How sweet is that Tom?” Terry Bradshaw asked, as Brady lifted the trophy.

His smile said it all.