Super Bowl LI Appearance

Lore & Background

Super Bowl LI featured the largest comeback in Super Bowl history, with the Patriots overcoming a 28–3 deficit to emerge victorious. The game was also the first Super Bowl (and first league championship since 1958) to be decided in overtime. Atlanta scored three consecutive touchdowns to take a 21–3 halftime lead, which they increased to 28–3 midway through the third quarter. However, the Patriots scored 25 unanswered points to tie the game in the final seconds of regulation. In overtime, New England received the kickoff after winning the coin toss and scored a touchdown to claim the title.

In Their Own Story

The air inside NRG Stadium in Houston was thick with tension as the clock ticked down on the fourth quarter. The Falcons' offense had dominated for three hours, but the stadium felt like it was holding its breath. Then came the fumble that wasn't a fumble, but an interception—a moment where time seemed to freeze. As the Patriots marched down the field in the dying seconds, the roar of the crowd shifted from hope to disbelief. The final whistle didn't just end a game; it shattered a city's dream.

Reader's Guide

The Patriots' victory was their fifth, moving them into a three-way tie with the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers for the second-most Super Bowl wins. After finishing the regular season with a league-best 14–2 record, New England advanced to their record-setting ninth Super Bowl appearance and their seventh under the leadership of head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. The Falcons, led by the league's top offense and MVP quarterback Matt Ryan, finished the regular season with an 11–5 record and the NFC's second seed. They were seeking their first Super Bowl title in their second appearance after last playing in 1998's Super Bowl XXXIII.

Did You Know?

• More than 30 team and individual Super Bowl records were broken or matched during the game, including Patriots running back James White's 14 receptions and 20 points scored and Brady's 62 attempts, 43 completions, and 46
• Brady was named Super Bowl MVP for a record fourth time and was the oldest player to receive the honor at 39; he would surpass both records in Super Bowl LV.
• Fox's broadcast of the game averaged around 111.3 million viewers, slightly down from the 111.9 million viewers of the previous year's Super Bowl, but the total number of viewers for all or part of the game hit a record
• Average television viewership for the halftime show, headlined by Lady Gaga, was higher at 117.5 million.