The city of Atlanta had seen it all before.
Of course.
Brady engineered a stunning comeback, leading the Patriots to a pair of touchdowns and a pair of 2-point conversions that sent the Super Bowl to overtime for the first time.
The Falcons spent 2? quarters playing with the swagger and confidence of a team that wasn't the least bit concerned about their city's history. Heading to the fourth quarter, they were still up 28-9. The Patriots tacked on a field goal early in the fourth, but Atlanta was still comfortably ahead.
That sequence will surely haunt outgoing offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan , who was acclaimed for his work with the league's highest-scoring team and will shortly be named head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.
Of course.
The Falcons were forced to punt it back to Brady and a Patriots team that was brimming with bravado.
Even after Ryan's turnover and the ensuing Patriots touchdown, Atlanta was still in position to put the victory away when Julio Jones made a stunning catch along the sideline,NFL Jerseys China, ripping the ball away from a defender and somehow getting both feet down before tumbling out of bounds at the New England 22.
That's little consolation to the Falcons.
At that point, it was a mere formality.
Then, the play that turned the momentum solidly in New England's favor.
Devonta Freeman was thrown for a 1-yard loss, but that wasn't a huge deal.
TWENTY-FIVE!
With under 5 minutes remaining and the Falcons still up 28-20, all they needed to do was run three more plays and set up for a field goal by Pro Bowl kicker Matt Bryant that would finally put the Patriots away.
It wasn't the least bit shocking when Brady hooked up with Danny Amendola on a 2-point pass that tied the game with 57 seconds remaining.
"That's a hard one in the locker room," coach Dan Quinn said. "No place to put that one mentally for us. But I am proud of the fight these guys have. The brotherhood this group has built, it's as strong as I've ever seen."
Instead of another run, Ryan set up for a pass. He was thrown for a 12-yard loss and, just like that, the Falcons were on the fringe of Bryant's range.
The final: New England 34, Atlanta 28.
But, really, nothing comes close to this level of sporting disappointment.
It wasn't the least bit shocking when they marched right down the field,NFL Jerseys China, 91 yards, for James White's short touchdown run.
The Patriots drove right down the field for the championship-winning touchdown.
It wasn't the least bit shocking when the Falcons, without any timeouts, failed to muster anything on their final offensive possession.
Brady will long be remembered for his record-breaking performance, completing 43 of 62 passes for 466 yards, and this will certainly go down as one of the greatest title games in NFL history.
Then, it happened.
It wasn't the least bit shocking when the Patriots won the toss and drove down the field one more time, 75 yards in just eight plays, and finished off the Falcons with a 2-yard touchdown run.
The city once known as "Loserville" was cruising toward its first Super Bowl championship, leading Tom Brady and the mighty New England Patriots by 25 points.
What happened next was a big deal.
Back in Atlanta, the city was all ready to bust loose in a celebration like no other, seemingly assured of finally putting to rest its history of sports flops.
"We had some opportunities to make plays," Ryan said. "We just missed on a couple of things and just made a few mistakes and ultimately,Wholesale Jerseys Outlet, when you're playing a real good football team like New England, those mistakes ended up costing us."
HOUSTON (AP) — Well, Atlanta, there's nothing left to say.
The greatest flop of them all,China Jerseys NFL.
"You always want to run the ball if you can," Shanahan said. "We got into field-goal range, where we would've ended it. But getting that sack and that hold call was tough."
The Patriots won the coin toss.
"I'm kind of numb," said Falcons safety Ricardo Allen, who might as well been speaking for an entire city. "I don't really know what to feel. I'm broken inside, because this is not us. I'm kind of numb to the feeling,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, man. It's terrible. It's one of the worst feelings ever. I'm not a guy that forgets very easy. I'll probably never forget this. It will always be haunting."
In the A-T-L, this will