With most Super Bowl’s you remember certain plays that changed the game or the performance of specific players. And while Super Bowl 51 between the Patriots and Falcons certainly had its fair share of memorable moments, every NFL fan around the world remembers that game by a simple score.
28-3.
With 2:08 left in the third quarter, the Falcons had a commanding lead. One that no fan, regardless of how die-hard, truly believed their team could come back from. Tom Brady has pulled dozens of rabbits out of his proverbial hat, but this seemed too much for even the greatest of all-time to overcome.
But from that moment on, to use one of the oldest cliches in history, the rest was history.
The Patriots defense stood on its head for the remainder of the game and didn’t allow a single point until the final buzzer went off. That gave Brady the chance to create his most beautiful masterpiece yet and mount the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history.
28-𝟯 years ago today. pic.twitter.com/A1fOrnRFHF
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) February 5, 2020
There has been a lot of talk about a certain Kansas City quarterback and his multiple double-digit comeback wins during his playoff run, but nothing will compare to this. In the Super Bowl, down 25 points to an offense that was great all year and a defense that had throttled you up until that point, the greatest to ever do it showed everyone in the league why he’s earned that title.
After completing the comeback and tying the game up in the waning moments of the 4th quarter, the game got sent into overtime, which was another first for the Super Bowl.
And at that point, there wasn’t a soul on this Earth watching that game who believed the Falcons had any chance. Once New England won the opening coin flip, it became less about who would win and more about how long would it take for the Pats to score.
The game played out like a movie. Like the script had already been written and the Football God’s were just giving us the most epic comeback story ever told. You’d be laughed at if you told anyone that the Super Bowl would play out like it did on February 5th, 2017. It still seems too crazy to be true. But sometimes fate is on your side.
The Falcons were never meant to win that football game. That game was meant to be the last straw, the final piece of evidence to shove in any and all doubters faces and finally force them to put down their pitchforks and “hot takes” and say: “Yeah, Tom Brady is the best to ever do it.”
So while Patriots fans are sitting there this off-season trying to comprehend the possibility that Tom Brady may not be under center next year, take some time out and remember the good old days.
Happy 28-3 Day.
https://youtu.be/6EXrewbmzkY
