Super Bowl LI: Down 25 points, Patriots took comeback 'one play at a time'

HOUSTON — It was the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history.

The Patriots trailed by 25 points in the third quarter and were down 19 with 15 minutes to play, when they miraculously rallied to defeat the Atlanta Falcons, 34-28, in overtime Sunday night in Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium.

The lasting impression is how many firsts the Patriots accomplished while improbably scoring the game’s final 31 points to claim their fifth Lombardi Trophy, a haul of hardware exceeded only by the Pittsburgh Steelers' six titles.

It was the 51st Super Bowl and the first to go to overtime. It was the greatest fourth-quarter comeback in a playoff game in league history. It was the first time a team had won the Super Bowl when trailing by more than 10 points at any time in the game.

“We’re all going to remember this for the rest of our lives,” Tom Brady said after earning his fifth ring and being named MVP for a record fourth time.

The groundwork for the comeback was laid during the extended halftime.

While Lady Gaga put on an expectedly entertaining show on the field, the surprisingly staggering Patriots calmly attempted to straighten things out in their locker room.

The Patriots hadn’t lost since Nov. 13 and came in confident they’d end the season with a 10-game winning streak. After 30 minutes of getting knocked down and around, there were some concerns that might not be the case as they trailed, 21-3.

“I most definitely had some doubts about the game,” cornerback Malcolm Butler honestly admitted.

Those quickly passed as players like Devin McCourty, Dont’a Hightower and Butler motivated the defense, the likes of Brady and Julian Edelman inspired the offense, and Matthew Slater encouraged his special teams colleagues. There was no yelling, arguing or helmet-tossing.

“Nobody ever wavered; everybody was all positive,” sophomore sensation Trey Flowers said.

Safety Duron Harmon proclaimed the Patriots were about to stage the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history because they had, “Tom Brady, the Michael Jordan of football, and you’ve got the greatest defense this year, man.”

Coordinators Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia made a few adjustments, but mostly decided to stay the course. Their message: Do your job, and do it better.

“We were going to make sure that we had to execute at a better level than we did in the first half,” Patricia said. “Just go out and just keep playing one play at a time.”

Then there was Bill Belichick, who assured his players that 21 points wasn’t going to be enough to beat them.

“He cast a wizard spell over us that changed everything,” veteran left tackle Nate Solder joked before imparting Belichick’s sound words of wisdom. “He said that we have to keep doing what we’re doing, play like we know how to play and not think about what happened. They have to score a lot more points to keep us down. We knew we could score enough points to win.”

The terrific trio of Brady, James White and Edelman led the way in that regard.

Brady was 27 of 36 for 282 yards and two touchdowns in the second half, as he finished with Super Bowl records for most completions (43), attempts (62) and yards (466). He was a perfect 5 for 5 for 50 yards in OT.

White made nine of his Super Bowl-record 14 receptions in the second half and scored a whopping 20 points (another SB record), including the winning touchdown on a 2-yard run in overtime.

Then there’s Edelman.

Like the New York Giants (David Tyree, Mario Manningham), San Francisco 49ers (Dwight Clark) and Pittsburgh Steelers (Franco Harris), the Patriots now their own postseason version of “The Catch” courtesy of Edelman. It was a fortunate play that kept the tying drive alive and will never be forgotten.

“I think in some of these types of games you need plays like that to go your way in order to come out victorious,” McDaniels said.

The defense, after ceding another touchdown, shut out the Falcons for the final 21 minutes, 29 seconds of regulation, and was so confident it wouldn’t take the field in overtime because Brady got the ball first, cornerback Logan Ryan said he, “Basically united my cleats.”

It also provided two plays in the fourth quarter that weren’t as remarkable and memorable as Edelman’s catch, but were equally meaningful. Without them, the Falcons win their first Super Bowl.

The first came when Hightower blitzed off the edge, came in unimpeded and strip-sacked quarterback Matt Ryan on third-and-1 from the Atlanta 36. Defensive tackle Alan Branch recovered the third fumble of his 10-year career with 8:24 to play, and the Patriots scored five plays later to find themselves down eight.

“Honestly, not a complicated blitz,” Hightower said after recording the first playoff sack of his career. “I think they had actually run that play maybe once or twice the previous series. I guess (running back Devonta) Freeman didn’t see me outside, and he went to chip or check and just lost sight of me.”

The Falcons recovered from their only turnover of the game and quickly moved from their own 10 to the New England 23. That put them in position for a makable field goal that would have made it a two-score game with less than four minutes to play.

Then Flowers blew up the middle and sacked Ryan for a 12-yard loss on second and 11. The Falcons punted two plays later.

“(Ryan) likes to step up in the pocket so anytime you get some inside penetration he was right there for the sack,” said Flowers, who accounted for half of the Patriots’ five quarterback takedowns. I was just blessed I had the opportunity to make the play when the time came.”

Then it was Brady time or as Flowers put it, “game over.”

Which it was as the Patriots went on to complete the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history.

—Contact Rich Garven at rgarven@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @RichGarvenTG.