It’s hard to take anything away from the New England Patriots’ historic Super Bowl LI win, but if you’re a fan of the Atlanta Falcons, you have to think this all could have been avoided.
The Falcons took a 21-3 lead into halftime Sunday night and led 28-3 late in the third quarter. The first title in team history seemed very much in reach. The Falcons just had to finish.
But through a combination of mistakes and questionable playcalling, Atlanta became Tom Brady and the Patriots’ latest Super Bowl victims. As far as the playcalling goes, the man primarily responsible for that — offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan — reportedly knows a lot of the blame falls on his shoulders.
It’s a harsh self-assessment, especially for someone who helped mastermind one of the best offenses in recent NFL history, but it’s also hard to ignore. After finding success on the ground in the first half, the Falcons got away from the running game in the second half, an even more curious line of thinking given their big lead.
Atlanta had two backs — Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman (who did get injured late in the game) — capable of salting away the clock. Freeman averaged nearly seven yards per carry for the game, but he got just six second-half rushes. The reluctance to run the ball was especially damaging late in the fourth quarter when the Falcons had a chance to essentially put the game away. Leading by eight and into Patriots territory, the Falcons could have simply run the ball three times — killing some clock and/or forcing the Patriots to use their timeouts — and instead opted to throw the ball. A sack and a penalty put the Falcons outside of field-goal range, forcing a punt and setting up the Patriots’ game-tying drive.
It’s a tough way for Shanahan’s Atlanta tenure to end, as he’s expected to take the San Francisco 49ers’ vacant head coach position.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
