Four Observations From the Super Bowl
Legacies, narratives, and some actual football, as well
Unless you lived under the proverbial rock, probably know that (a) the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl, and (b) the Atlanta Falcons blew the biggest lead in Super Bowl history. Given these circumstances, here are four things that set this NFL finale apart from some other years
The Atlanta Falcons are young, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be back
When a team over-performs and goes much further than they were expected to, people often write that this is only the beginning for whichever team is in question. And people are rightly saying this about the Falcons. This team is young, talented, well-coached, and should be around for a long time. Except, teams that lose the Super Bowl rarely make it back the following season, and Atlanta is about to lose its offensive coordinator to the San Francisco 49ers.
Getting to the Super Bowl is incredibly hard to do, and isn’t something that anyone can take for granted. The Falcons might be the best team in the NFC next season, but the Packers, Cowboys, and Seahawks should all be better than they collectively were this year, and everyone will be salivating at the thought of taking Atlanta down. This still should be the beginning a sustained success for the Falcons, but we can’t count on that.
Don’t blame Matt Ryan—it wasn’t his fault
I haven’t seen many people criticizing Ryan, so this may be unnecessary, but I’ll say it anyway. Ryan played a great game, and even with a few miscues down the stretch was hardly the reason that Atlanta ended up losing. Was the fumble unfortunate? Yes. Was the sack inexcusable? Yes. Is he still a deserving MVP candidate and did he still turn in a phenomenal game? Also yes. The 2016 season was a resounding success on every level for the oft-maligned QB, and a heartbreaking finish doesn’t change that.
The Aggressive vs. Conservative debate continues to rage
Coaches with the lead — and the ball—in playoff games often subscribe to one of two mindsets. One is to play ultra-conservative football and avoid turnovers at all costs. The other is to keep gunning with an aggressive play-style to keep the pressure on the opposing defense. Atlanta subscribed to the latter last night, and it came back to bite them. I don’t see this game as anything close to a referendum on this issue, but it’s definitely a key chapter in its story.
The Patriots are sickeningly phenomenal
As much as the Falcons fell apart down the stretch, credit for this game absolutely goes to the Patriots. This team had to be absolutely perfect, and they were. The Falcons absolutely should have won this game, and this will forever go down in history as “the game when the Falcons choked.” But this game doesn’t turn out this way if Brady and his teammates turn in a literally perfect performance for much of the fourth quarter. As sickening as this was to Atlanta fans, it was also undeniably phenomenal.
