Two years ago, a football seemed to hit the ground. It bounced up and down, against Jermaine Kearse’s legs and arms, but never touched the ground. Kearse reeled in that seemingly impossible catch and the Super Bowl party I was at erupted. High fives were exchanged and screams howled through the living room. Less than a minute later, that joy turned into the worst kind of sadness. The sadness that comes with a Patriots’ Super Bowl victory, because in that minute, Russell Wilson threw his infamous pick to Malcolm Butler — and the rest is history.
Now, the Patriots are one game away from another Super Bowl victory, and no matter your politics, there’s one thing the entire nation outside of New England can agree on: the Patriots cannot win another Super Bowl.
The Atlanta Falcons have a good chance of beating the Super Bowl perennials. The main reason? Their unstoppable offense. The Falcons have scored an average of 33.8 points per game in the regular season — the most in the league. They also were second in the league in yards per game, averaging 415.8 yards.
This prolific offense is due in large part to MVP-candidate quarterback Matt Ryan, who has been nearly unstoppable this season. Leading up to the Super Bowl, Ryan owns a 69.95 percent completion rating, just under 5,000 passing yards and 38 touchdowns on the season with just seven interceptions.
It also doesn’t hurt that he has Julio Jones as his No. 1 wideout. In a somewhat off year, with a few injuries sidelining him two games, Jones had over 1,400 receiving yards in the regular season. He also averaged more yards per catch than he has in any season since his rookie year.
Not only has this team been fantastic all season, but the Atlanta Falcons also seem to be heating up during the last six games they played. Ryan held a 72.8 percent completion rating, and a 133.3 passer rating (according to Chris Wesseling) through the last six games. The Falcons averaged 39 points per game over that span.
Even the Falcons’ defense has improved over the last six games. It only allowed 19.3 point per game, 5.9 point per game less than it did in the first 12 weeks of the season.
Meanwhile, the Patriots also produced a dominant 36-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, in which Tom Brady looked as determined as ever. Brady completed over 75 percent of his passes for 384 yards and three touchdowns. That said, the Patriots are showing some weaknesses in the postseason.
In the team’s game against Houston, Brady threw two interceptions. Through both postseason games, the Patriots are averaging 2.9 yards per rush. Their star tight end, Rob Gronkowski, is out for the Super Bowl. Not to mention, the Patriots had an easier road to the playoffs than the Falcons.
However, the Patriots are still the Patriots, and they are always a favorite in the Super Bowl. The Patriots were third in points per game during the regular season with 27.6, despite Brady’s four-game suspension. Their defense is allowing the fewest number of point per game, averaging just 15.6 during the regular season.
Atlanta’s run defense will be its largest weakness; it has allowed 5.3 yards per rush in the postseason and has only averaged 3.4 yards per rush itself.
While this last section may sound daunting, Atlanta still does have one last advantage — Dan Quinn knows to not call a passing play at the goal line. Atlanta is far from a sure win, but the Falcons just might take down the evil empire.