HOUSTON — Danny Amendola saved by far his best performance of the 2016 NFL season for the New England Patriots’ final game.
A fourth or fifth option at best for quarterback Tom Brady up to this point, Amendola played a starring role Sunday night in Super Bowl LI, catching a season-high eight passes on 11 targets for 78 yards and a touchdown in the Patriots’ 34-28 overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons.
The 31-year-old wide receiver hadn’t caught more than four passes nor gained more than 50 yards in a game all season, and he was targeted just 29 times over his 12 regular-season contests.
After trying and failing to develop a rhythm with Julian Edelman during the first half, Brady began to look toward his other wideouts. He found a reliable target in Amendola, who hauled in six of the seven passes thrown his way after the midway point of the third quarter. Malcolm Mitchell enjoyed similar success, as Brady went 5-for-5 for 63 yards when targeting the rookie receiver in the second half.
These completions came after the Patriots fell behind 28-3 six-and-a-half minutes into the third quarter. Their 25-point comeback was the largest in Super Bowl history, smashing the previous record of 10 points.
“We were just worrying about beating them by one point,” Amendola told reporters after the game. “We knew we had to come out in the second half and play no matter what. They were coming at us with a lot of things. We just wanted to be resilient, we wanted to be tough mentally, and we got it done.”
Playing alongside more explosive playmakers like Edelman, Chris Hogan and Dion Lewis, Amendola rarely puts up gaudy stats for New England. But he’s shown an ability to make clutch plays in key situations, as evidenced by his performances in each of the Patriots’ last two Super Bowls.
Against the Seattle Seahawks two years ago, Amendola caught five passes, including a fourth-quarter touchdown pass that cut Seattle’s lead to three. He scored a touchdown in a similar situation against Atlanta — a 6-yard strike from Brady with 5:56 remaining — and later plowed into the end zone for a two-point conversion that sent the game to overtime.
Of Amendola’s eight receptions, four went for 13 yards or more, including a 17-yard gain on fourth-and-3 that kept the Patriots’ first touchdown drive alive and a 14-yard pickup in overtime.
“To convert two two-point conversions, another fourth down to Amendola on another scoring drive — you have to make all of those plays right when you fall behind by 25 points,” Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. “Our guys deserve all of the credit, because they’re the ones who executed under pressure.”
Thumbnail photo via Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports Images
