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.
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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]
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