15 crazy stats from the Super Bowl

Super Bowl 51 looked like it was going to be a lopsided blowout — until it became a nail-biter for the ages.

Coming back from a 25-point deficit in the first overtime game in Super Bowl history, the New England Patriots beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 — after trailing 28-3 near the end of the third quarter.

Here are 15 crazy stats about Sunday night's epic showdown in Houston.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

1. The Patriots came back from a record 25-point deficit to win the Super Bowl. Before that, the largest comeback in Super Bowl history was 10 points. [ESPN]

2. When the Patriots were down 28-3, they had less than a 1 percent chance of winning. [FiveThirtyEight]

3. Atlanta had a 19-point lead (28-9) heading into the fourth quarter. In the history of the NFL playoffs before Super Bowl 51, 93 teams had a lead of 19 or more points heading into the fourth quarter. Their record was 93-0. [CBS]

4. The Patriots ran 93 offensive plays. The Falcons ran a mere 46. [The Chicago Tribune]

5. At halftime, the Falcons had more points (21) than plays (19). [The Philadelphia Inquirer]

6. In the first half, the Falcons averaged 9.6 yards per rush. In the second half, they averaged 2.3. [CBS]

7. A full one hour and 8 minutes elapsed between the Atlanta offense last touching the ball in the second quarter and their first possession of the third quarter. [The Washington Post]

8. The Patriots and Falcons combined to have the most first downs in a single Super Bowl: 54. The Patriots had the most in a single Super Bowl by one team, with 37. [Fox]

9. Since 2001, eight regular season MVPs have made it to the Super Bowl, including Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan. All eight have lost. [ESPN]

10. The Patriots' James White broke a Super Bowl record with 14 receptions. [The Washington Post]

11. White also scored the most points in a single Super Bowl: 20. (That's three touchdowns and a two-point conversion.) [Fox]

12. Atlanta's Grady Jarrett became the only player ever to sack Tom Brady three times in a single Super Bowl. [ESPN]

13. Tom Brady set a new Super Bowl record with 466 passing yards. [CBS]

14. Brady also had the most passing attempts in a single Super Bowl, with 62, and completions, with 43. [Fox]

15. Brady now has more Super Bowl rings (five) than any other quarterback, and the most Super Bowl MVPs (four) of any NFL player in history. [The Huffington Post]