We’re set for the 51st Super Bowl. Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots are in search of their fifth Lombardi Trophy, while Matt Ryan and Dan Quinn look to put the cherry on top of a perfect breakout season by giving the Atlanta Falcons their first-ever championship.
10 things you need to know…
1. The Patriots are a three-point favorite in Houston, with the initial total set at 58. That’s the highest over/under in Super Bowl history.
2. For what it’s worth, the Brady-led Patriots have never won or lost a Super Bowl by more than four points. Their first three victories all came by a field goal, they lost to the Giants by three in 2007 and four in 2011 and then they beat the Seahawks by four in 2014.
3. This matchup pits the league’s top-rated scoring offense (Atlanta averaged a ridiculous 33.4 points per game) against the league’s top-rated scoring defense (New England surrendered just 15.6 points per game). But only five teams surrendered more points during the regular season than the Falcons did, whereas the Pats also had the NFL’s third-highest-scoring offense.
4. Don’t expect a lot of turnovers. The Patriots and Falcons were the only two teams in football with fewer than 12 turnovers during the regular season (they had 11 apiece). In fact, only two other teams in NFL history have turned it over that infrequently. And while both defenses have been opportunistic down the stretch, Ryan has 18 touchdowns and zero interceptions in his last six games and Brady set a single-season record with a 28-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio during the regular season.
5. There’s also a very good chance Ryan and Brady finish 1-2 in MVP voting, although Aaron Rodgers could have something to say about that. Ryan was a first-team All-Pro, Brady was the second-team quarterback. This marks the first time since 1984 (Joe Montana and the 49ers vs. Dan Marino and the Dolphins) in which the league’s two highest-rated passers are meeting in the Super Bowl.
6. Brady can of course become the first quarterback to win five championships. Charles Haley is the only man ever to win five rings as a player. Belichick can become the first head coach to win five.
7. Barring something unforeseen, there won’t be one prevailing injury storyline. The Patriots miss tight end Rob Gronkowski and Atlanta misses cornerback Desmond Trufant, but those guys are long gone. However, a lot of banged-up pass-catchers (Julio Jones for Atlanta; Danny Amendola, Martellus Bennett, Chris Hogan and Malcolm Mitchell for New England) will be closely monitored.
8. The Falcons can become the 20th franchise to win a Super Bowl. They’re one of eight teams that have existed for the entire Super Bowl era without winning a Lombardi Trophy.
9. For what it’s worth, the Patriots haven’t lost to the Falcons since 1998, when the Super Bowl-bound Falcons beat New England 41-10 on the road. The Pats beat Atlanta in 2001, 2005, 2009 and 2013.
10. This’ll be the third Super Bowl played in Houston. The Dolphins beat the Vikings 24-7 at Rice Stadium to cap the 1973 season and the Patriots beat the Panthers 32-29 at Reliant Stadium to conclude the 2003 campaign. That, of course, was the Janet Jackson game.
