Photo Courtesy: Marathonbet Twitter Account
AFC Champions: New England Patriots 14-2
NFC Champions: Atlanta Falcons 11-5
Game Info
New England Patriots vs Atlanta Falcons
Sunday – February 5 – 5:30 p.m.
TV: FOX
NRG Stadium – Houston – Texas
Picture this… There are 71, 054 screaming fan packed into the NRG stadium seats. Flash bulbs are going off, the crowd is cheering and the music is deafening! The teams are getting ready for their introductions. The stadium is littered with jerseys worn by Patriots and Falcons faithfuls. This will be the proving ground for Tom Brady as perhaps the best ever or Matt Ryan reaching the pinnacle and stopping Brady from his destiny. This game has so many underlining factors from team to team. Let’s take a look at Super Bowl LI!
Why you shouldn’t watch this game
Your favorite team didn’t make it to Houston and you’re still upset that the Cowboys got robbed by those lousy referees this year! Instead of watching two teams that you don’t like, your taking your girlfriend out for dinner and a movie.
Why you should watch this game
We measure greatness by championships. Will “Tom Terrific” win his #5 or will “Matty Ice” prove that he’s the next big thing? This game is about the quarterbacks, but both teams are talented on both sides of the ball.
New England Patriots
No one can deny that Tom Brady is a really good quarterback. His team leading 3,554 passing yard, 28 touchdowns and two interceptions is mind boggling while missing the first four games of the season. You would say that he has carried his team back to another Super Bowl. The Patriots didn’t make it on his shoulders. They made it by way of the defense. The defense is very stingy ranking ranking number 2 in total defense this year. They have 14 take a ways this year giving up a total of 15 points per game. The player to watch is Chris Long. He’s very disruptive off the edge. He’s seeking his first championship with New England this year. The Falcons averages 17 yards per completed play, but the Patriots only give up 6 yards per completed play. The key is for the defense to slow down the Falcon offense offense while creating turnovers in the process.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons offense is averaging 33.8 points per game. They made it to the Super Bowl by tearing up the Green Bay Packers at home by 23 points. For the last nine games the Falcons have been exposing defenses by the run and the pass. How do you stop a prolific offense? By keeping the defense on the field and scoring points. That is how. Matt Ryan has weapons everywhere. If you take a look at the last seven games, Matt Ryan has distributed the ball to 14 different players. Matt Ryan`s 4,944 yards passing and 38 touchdowns this year has everyone giving him the MVP trophy. Julio Jones is the biggest threat to the Patriots. He caught 83 passes for 1,409 yards and eight touchdowns with a turf toe. He’s big, physical and fast which creates headaches for opposing corner backs. Devontae Freeman will see his share of the ball as well. His mixture of power and speed will keep the Patriots defense on their heels in this contest.
Prediction
The ESPN “Matchup Predictor” is predicting that the Patriots have a 55.6% chance to pull this one out. I’m picking Atlanta by 10. If you’re a betting man, the over/under is 59 so take it! You can’t lose either way if your a true football fan. Whoever wins the MVP trophy will have their face plastered all over the place from Disney World, Old Spice and the new Madden 2K18. Von Miller will be long gone. Will the new MVP will be burned into our minds for the next year?
Final score: Atlanta 38 – New England 28
