If only the Atlanta Falcons had kept giving Devonta Freeman the (darn) ball.
The Falcons running back said Wednesday on SiriusXM NFL Radio that he believes he would have been the Super Bowl LI MVP if his team didn’t take him out of the game in the fourth quarter. Freeman finished the game with 75 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries and two receptions for 46 yards, but just five of those carries (for 4 yards) came in the second half or overtime.
“I hate to go there, but I was supposed to be the MVP this year of the Super Bowl …,” Freeman said, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s JuliaKate E. Culpepper.
Show hosts Brady Quinn and Bruce Murray then brought up Matt Ryan, the Falcons quarterback and 2016 NFL MVP who threw for 284 yards and two touchdowns in the Super Bowl. Freeman contends he was having a better game than Ryan.
“I don’t want to make this no competition thing with me and my quarterback,” Freeman said. “I’m just talking about from based off that game. Let’s (say) it like this: If I would have kept getting the ball, if I would have stayed in the game, I don’t know why I got out of the game actually.
“But if I would have stayed in the game, I would have got MVP. I’m looking at my stats, and I see my numbers didn’t lie. Look at my numbers.”
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady ultimately won the Super Bowl MVP, having engineered the largest comeback in Super Bowl history (25 points) in his team’s 34-28 win.
Thumbnail photo via Dale Zanine/USA TODAY Sports Images
