The Atlanta Falcons were well on their way to winning the franchise’s first Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LI. Until, you know, that happened.
The Falcons managed to squander their 25-point, second-half lead and ultimately fell to the New England Patriots in overtime.
Atlanta never will be able to escape its catastrophic collapse, but quarterback Matt Ryan appears to be trying to spin it in a positive light. After getting so close and coming up just short, Ryan sounds more motivated than ever to put together a strong 2017 season.
“I felt like I took a couple weeks to get away from it and spend time just relaxing and kind of disappearing for a bit,” Ryan told Sirius XM’s Bruce Murray and Phil Savage. “But when I got back, and we started to work on this 2017 season and the team that we have now, all of my focus goes there. I think you’ll always have a little bit of that scar that kind of drives you, and that’s fine. Never let go of that. But our focus is 100 percent about what we’re doing and what we’re moving forward to.”
It will be no easy task for the Falcons to return to the Super Bowl, as their regular-season schedule features six opponents that were playoff teams last year, including a rematch with the Patriots on Oct. 22.
Thumbnail photo via Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports Images
