Can Patriots come back from biggest Super Bowl deficit to win?
The New England Patriots found themselves down 21-0 and then 21-3 at halftime to the Atlanta Falcons. It increased to 28-3 in the third quarter. (The Falcons should have had one fewer point, but that’s another point entirely). And is now 28-9.
When it got to 14-0, it was the biggest deficit the Patriots had faced in a Super Bowl since Bill Belichick took over. Unexpected territory to be sure. And uncommon as well, at least as far as eliminating big deficits to come back and win.
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According to Pro Football Reference, the Patriots have had only one lead larger than 21 points and come back to win in the Belichick-Tom Brady era. They’ve also had exactly one 21-point comeback.
The Patriots trailed by a 24-0 count to the Denver Broncos in 2013 but managed to rip off 34 points in the second half and overtime to win, 34-31. They’ll now need to best that, facing a 25-point Falcons lead.
But this season, the Patriots have not come back from a deficit of more than 10 points. Yes, they’re not used to being in situations such as these. They lost 16-0 without Brady in Week 4 to the Bills, and by seven points to the Seattle Seahawks.
The way the Falcons’ defense played for the most part in the first half, coming back from 18 down at half looks daunting.
Plus, no team has erased more than a 10-point second-half deficit in Super Bowl history. The one that did — the Patriots against the Seahawks in Super Bowl 49.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
