2 Under reported stats -

slam said:

Another stat I'd like to see: the amount of time gifted by the Falcons to the Pats by not running the play clock down to 2 seconds each play.

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You can't do that because then the D will tee off on the O-line because they know when you're going to snap the ball.

fightingirish595 said:

I think the Pats offense had something to do with Atlanta only getting 21 from their offense, but one could say Atlanta averaged 3.1 points per posession all season. And against us, they managed just 21 Well done defense. So on 10 possessions Atlanta was averaging 31, but against us on 10 real posession a, they got 21.

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I agree. Points per possession both offensively and defensively are very telling statistics and really capture the differences between the two halves for both us and Atlanta.

DarrylS said:

AKA "Rogerwilldestroythisteamgate".... do not defy "assclown Roger"..

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How about putting a Pinocchio nose on here to capture his "integrity"?

I've now rewatched the comeback and noted when Atlanta snapped the ball with a running clock. They snapped the ball with 13, 9, 14, 19, 13, and 4 seconds left on the play clock. If they burn down the clock and snap the ball with no more than 5 seconds left on the clock, they take :41 seconds off the clock. If the Falcons snap with no more than 2 seconds on the clock, they take an entire minute off the clock. James White scored the TD to pull within 2 at exactly 1 minute left.

Unsuccessfully challenging the Edelman catch also saves the Patriots some time, though it's hard to quantify. The red flag is thrown at 2:11 when the Pats were hustling to run a play to negate any challenge. The Pats then run one play before the 2 minute warning. I think it's safe to say the challenge saved the Pats from having to run a hurry up play, which would probably be just a short gain, as they were in "run anything to stop a challenge" mode.

Given that the Pats had two time outs and scored with a minute left, they should have been able to still score with time to spare. Then again, the Patriots calling two TOs would also have given the Falcons defense some much needed rest as well. Also standard recognition for the record that different situations would have caused different results.

I agree about the defensive prowess shown throughout the game being so significant. You don't get to score 25 uninterrupted points unless the defense makes a bunch of stops, which was the same deal as with the comeback in Super Bowl 49. Excellent defense when it counted the most.

A sort-of stat is that this is probably the only Super Bowl where the winning team did not kick an extra point. Or, at least, where the winning team scored at least one touchdown and didn't kick an extra point.

patfanken said:

In all the discussions about who is the greatest and most clutch, people forget that in the Pats 2 superbowl losses, Tom Brady took his team from behind late in the 4th quarter to put them ahead with under 3 minutes to go. THAT stat is AMAZING.

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People might forget it because it isn't true.

It's sort of this strange urban myth that's developed, but the fact is the Patriots scored their last points in the 2011 Super Bowl with over 11 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. From there, they blew an 8-point lead, never scored again and lost the game.

IndianPat said:

Nobody discusses in detail about this part of the Falcons game. As you rightly said, it was a gift to the Pats. On one play, I saw Ryan take a snap with 18 seconds on clock. I had to make sure I was seeing right. My thoughts at that time were "how stupid is your team in playing situational football".
Assuming at 5 secs on the play clock for a strategic snap, off hand I think Atlanta gifted us with 40 to 60 seconds of clock time. The complexion of the game would have been completely different.

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Falcons were outcoached.