After three minutes and 58 seconds into overtime, New England Patriots running back Mr. James White scored the winning touchdown, ending the game 34 to 28 against the Atlanta Falcons to claim the Super Bowl 51 championship title for the Patriots. This was the first time in National Football League (NFL) history that a Super Bowl championship game went into overtime.
Shannon Pyne ’17
Leading up to the Super Bowl, the Patriots finished the season with 14 wins and 2 losses, and beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the American Football Conference Championship game 36 to 17 January 22. Earlier that day, the Atlanta Falcons beat the Green Bay Packers in the National Football Conference Championship 44 to 21, and ended their season with 11 wins 5 losses.
Hosted at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, the Super Bowl opened with “The Schuyler Sisters” from Hamilton: An American Musical who sang “America the Beautiful,” and Luke Bryan followed to sing the National Anthem.
Former president, Mr. George H.W. Bush performed the coin toss, allowing the Falcons to defer their choice until the second half of the game, while the Patriots were the first team to receive.
During the first quarter, the score remained 0-0. In the second quarter, the Falcons scored three touchdowns, including one after an interception from cornerback Mr. Robert Alford. With only a few seconds left of the second quarter, the Patriots scored a field goal, making the score 21-3 in favor of the Falcons at halftime.
Courtesy of forbes.com
Singer Lady Gaga returned to the Super Bowl for an elaborate performance at the halftime show. Gaga started on the roof of the stadium singing “God Bless America” and later jumped, landing on the stage. Afterwards, she sang some of her hit songs including “Born this Way,” “Telephone,” “Just Dance,” “Million Reasons,” and “Bad Romance.”
By the middle of the third quarter, the Patriots were down 25 points with a score of 28-3. Afterwards, the Patriots managed to tie the score during the fourth quarter with two touchdowns and two two-point conversions to go into overtime.
Senior Shannon Pyne attended the historic championship game.
Pau Barbosa ’18
“As a patriots fan, it was truly amazing to witness their comeback as they made history,” Shannon said. “My siblings and I were so excited that after we won, we had a family hug. I will never forget Super Bowl 51.”
By the end of the game, Patriots quarterback Mr. Tom Brady broke the Super Bowl record of most passing yards and the NFL named him the most valuable player for the game.
This was the ninth time the Patriots have played in the Super Bowl, and the sixth time for Mr. Brady who made Super Bowl history by breaking his own record for quarterback with the must Super Bowl wins, according to cbssports.com.
In addition, Falcons quarterback Mr. Matt Ryan was named the 2016 NFL most valuable player, leading his team to their second Super Bowl game in their team’s history. The Falcons had only been to one other Super Bowl game in 1999, but did not win the game, according to si.com.
Shannon Pyne ’17
Mr. Brady expressed that despite the score, he remained positive throughout the game according to chicagotribune.com.
“I never got down,” Mr. Brady said, according to chicagotribune.com. “We all brought each other back, we never felt out of it.”
– Pau Barbosa, Features Editor
