Who has the edge between Patriots and Falcons in Super Bowl LI?
Quarterbacks
Patriots: If the Super Bowl took place in the same location each year, Tom Brady would likely have a time share in that city. Brady will be playing in his seventh Super Bowl, an NFL record. He holds nearly every passing record for the big game including yards (1,605), completions (164), and touchdowns (13). Brady set an NFL record with a 28 to 2 touchdown to interception ratio in the regular season and posted the second highest rating of his 17-year career (112.2).
Falcons: Matt Ryan isn’t nearly as accomplished as the Patriots’ quarterback, however Ryan managed to earned first-team All-Pro honors over Brady. Ryan muzzled all doubters during his career season, throwing for 38 touchdowns with seven interceptions and 4,944 yards. Ryan, once criticized for a lack of postseason success, has thrown seven touchdowns, no interceptions, and averaged 365 yards per game during these playoffs.
Edge: Patriots
Running Backs
Patriots: The Patriots use a three-man running back committee. LeGarrette Blount, the Patriots bruising lead back, rushed for 1,161 yards and a league-high 18 touchdowns in the regular season. Dion Lewis, an elusive change of pace runner, has 10 or more carries in four of his past five games. James White hasn’t had more than seven carries in any game this season, but caught 60 passes as the Patriots’ third-down back.
Falcons: The Falcons have two good running backs in Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman and both are used interchangeably. Both are trusted as runners, pass catchers and pass blockers. Freeman is the only back in the league to rush for more than 1,000 yards in each of the past two seasons. Freeman and Coleman combined for 2,482 scrimmage yards and 24 touchdowns this season.
Edge: Falcons
Receivers
Patriots: Julian Edelman led the receiving corps this season with 98 catches and 1,106 yards. The Patriots don’t employ household names at receiver, but rather ones who have a knack for finding soft spots in coverage and making plays when called upon. Chris Hogan is coming off a career-best 180-yard day in the championship game. Tight end Martellus Bennett has failed to top 35 yards in 10 of his past 12 games.
Falcons: Thirteen Falcons caught a touchdown pass this season, an NFL record. The Falcons receivers produced 17 plays of 40 or more yards this season, compared to the Patriots’ nine. Julio Jones led the NFL with 100.6 receiving yards per game. Opposite of him is the sure-handed Mohamed Sanu and 5-foot-8 Taylor Gabriel, whose speed allows him to break loose from anywhere. The Falcons get little production from their tight ends.
Edge: Falcons
OL
Patriots: The Patriots’ offensive line has been successful despite its youth. The Patriots’ interior line is built with two second-year players and a rookie. Right tackle Marcus Cannon of TCU earned second-team All-Pro honors, anchoring a line that gave up the fifth fewest sacks (24) in 2016. The Patriots averaged 3.9 yards per rush in the regular season, 24th best.
Falcons: The Falcons use the famous Shanahan zone blocking scheme with the same success that helped the Broncos win two Super Bowls in the 1990s. Alex Mack anchors the line at center with solid contributors, namely Ryan Schraeder. The Falcons allowed 37 sacks (11th most) but ran for 4.6 yards per carry (fourth best). No other line has started the same five players in every game.
Edge: Patriots
DL
Patriots: The Patriots’ starting defensive line from championship weekend outweighed Atlanta’s by 24 pounds per man. The Patriots are built to stop the run, ranking third in yards allowed (88.6). Nose tackle Malcom Brown anchors the line with his 350-pound frame. Even though the Patriots rely more on their linebackers to generate a rush, defensive end Trey Flowers leads the team with seven sacks.
Falcons: The Falcons’ defensive line is led by Vic Beasley, who is a linebacker in name only. Beasley, who is playing more end since Adrian Clayborn tore his triceps, leads the NFL with 15.5 sacks. No other active player on Atlanta’s roster has more than three. The Falcons’ line is built to rush the passer, leaving size to be desired in run defense.
Edge: Falcons
Linebackers
Patriots: The Patriots shipped away their best linebacker, Jamie Collins, early in the season and have used a rotation of several linebackers to compensate. Almost anything constitutes a linebacker in Matt Patricia’s ever-changing defense with each one filling a specific niche. The leader of the group is Dont’a Hightower, one of the NFL’s best linebackers.
Falcons: When Sean Weatherspoon ruptured his Achilles early in the year, the Falcons turned to their two outstanding rookie linebackers: De’Vondre Campbell, a solid run stopper, and Deion Jones who led the Falcons with 108 tackles. Jones intercepted three passes this season – two he returned for touchdowns – and is quickly becoming a defensive leader.
Edge: Patriots
Secondary
Patriots: The Patriots ranked 12th against the pass allowing 237.9 yards per game. The Patriots’ secondary has shown a knack for shutting down an opponent’s number one receiver, most recently Antonio Brown of Pittsburgh. The four starters in the secondary (cornerback Malcolm Butler, cornerback Logan Ryan, strong safety Patrick Chung, free safety Devin McCourty) are the team’s four leading tacklers.
Falcons: The Falcons have been shaky on the back end all year, but have played better as of late, due in part to the play of rookie Keanu Neal, who led the secondary with 105 tackles and five forced fumbles. Between all the starters in the secondary and nickelback Brian Poole, only cornerback Robert Alford has more than three years of NFL experience.
Edge: Patriots
Special teams
Patriots: Stephen Gostkowski finished the regular season 27-of-32 on field goal tries (84.4 percent), his lowest rate since 2012. Gostkowski has hit 29 of 31 field goals in the playoffs, including his past 20. Ryan Allen nets 41.4 yards per punt. Dion Lewis already has a kickoff return for a touchdown in these playoffs. The Patriots, uncharacteristically, have fumbled 10 times on return plays this year.
Falcons: Falcons 41-year-old kicker Matt Bryant was the NFC’s Pro Bowl selection. He is 37-of-40 on field goal tries, including the playoffs. Bryant has made nine of 10 in his playoff career. Matt Bosher’s 41.6 net yards per punt is sixth in the NFL. Eric Weems averaged 11.4 yards per punt return, fifth best among players with more than 20 returns.
Edge: Falcons
Coaches
Patriots: Including his two appearances as an assistant, Bill Belichick will be participating in his ninth Super Bowl. No coach has more playoff wins than Belichick’s 25. Belichick’s ability to adjust philosophy based on who he is coaching against is uncanny. His coordinators, Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia, are among the best in the league and McDaniels has interviewed for head coaching jobs as recently as last month.
Falcons: Two years after Dan Quinn became a defensive coordinator in the NFL, he was offered the Falcons’ head coaching job. Two years after that, he’s coaching in the Super Bowl. Quinn faced the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX as the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive coordinator. Kyle Shanahan, the Falcons’ offensive coordinator who helped Atlanta score 33.8 points per game, is considered one of the NFL’s best young minds and could be taking the San Francisco 49ers’ head coaching job after the Super Bowl.
Edge: Patriots
Intangibles
Patriots: The Patriots organization is oozing with Super Bowl experience. Twenty-one players on the roster have played in the big game. From the top down, the Patriots have been doing everything well for so long. The embarrassment that came with the unfolding of “deflategate” will likely add to the chip that seems to be permanently attached to Tom Brady’s shoulder.
Falcons: The Falcons are the hotter team. In their past six games, they have outscored opponents 234-116. They are a dome team and NRG Stadium has a dome, however, only four Falcons have been to a Super Bowl. It’s one thing to play in your first Super Bowl, another to do it against the greatest coach and quarterback combination of all time.
Edge: Patriots
This story was originally published February 4, 2017 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Who has the edge between Patriots and Falcons in Super Bowl LI?."