“Gotta believe.”
Julian Edelman uttered those words countless times throughout and after the New England Patriots’ historic, improbable 25-point comeback over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI.
NFL Films first caught Edelman saying it for “Inside The NFL” as Dont’a Hightower provided a glimmer of hope with a strip sack as the Patriots trailed 28-12 with less than six minutes left in the game. He also said it before the Patriots’ last-minute game-tying drive in the fourth quarter. It’s proof the Patriots never truly gave up despite being down 28-3 midway through the third quarter.
Here are the best lines from “Inside The NFL: Super Bowl LI,” which aired Tuesday night on Showtime:
— The game started to get away from the Patriots after running back LeGarrette Blount fumbled as New England was driving down the field early in the second quarter. The Falcons were able to quickly turn the takeaway into points on a 5-yard touchdown run by Devonta Freeman.
Ivan Fears, Patriots running backs coach: “They’ve got you on top of the guy sitting on the ground, and they’re still tugging at it. You saw that film yesterday. You saw how they do that.”
LeGarrette Blount, Patriots running back: “C’mon LG!”
Julian Edelman, Patriots wide receiver: “Damnit! I should have got that fumble.”
— The Falcons scored again midway through the second quarter on a 19-yard hookup between quarterback Matt Ryan and tight end Austin Hooper.
Julio Jones, Falcons wide receiver: “They can’t stop the way we stop. They can’t run the way we run.”
Mohamed Sanu, Falcons wide receiver: “Hell no.”
Jones: “So, let’s run, stop and keep going. That’s how we beat them up. Go, full speed, stop the route, full speed go route.”
Sanu: “They’re not athletic enough.”
— Momentum quickly was shifting in the Falcons’ direction now up 14-0.
Sanu: “We’re about to get a pick, though. We’re about to get a pick, though. We’re about to get a pick, though.”
— Sanu was prophetic for an instant. Brady threw a pick-six to Falcons cornerback Robert Alford to put Atlanta up 21-0 with 2:21 left in the first half.
Sanu: “Hey, didn’t I tell you we were about to get one? Didn’t I tell you we were about to get a pick?”
LeGarrette Blount, Patriots running back: “That’s what opened the floodgates really, bro. I put that (expletive) on the ground. You know how that goes, that momentum goes.”
— The Patriots were forced to settle for a field goal on their final drive before the half.
Sanu: “Shaking his head. He ain’t never met nothing like this.”
Taylor Gabriel, Falcons wide receiver: “That’s Tom Brady, though.”
Sanu: “I know. I’m never comfortable. We’re about to put up 40-something on their ass. But I’m saying, they’ve never seen anything like this.”
— It’s safe to say Sanu wasn’t quite as prophetic in this moment. Blount was, however.
Blount to James White: “Keep balling, James. We’re gonna come back to get it. We got to, have no other option.”
— The Patriots took the field after an extended halftime, which included a performance by Lady Gaga.
Josh McDaniels, Patriots offensive coordinator to running backs: “Do you believe we’re going to win? I do, too. Let’s just play our best half. I don’t want anyone to do anything you can’t do. Don’t try to make it all up in one play. Just play each play by itself.”
Julian Edelman, Patriots wide receiver: “Let’s go, baby. It’s going to be one hell of a story.”
Tom Brady, Patriots quarterback: “Hell yeah.”
— The Patriots’ defense forced a three-and-out to start the half.
Alan Branch, Patriots defensive tackle: “They ain’t running no more, yo. They ain’t running no more.”
— The Patriots also were forced to punt, then the Falcons took a 28-3 lead on a touchdown catch by running back Tevin Coleman.
Brady: “Let’s go. We gotta go make them. We gotta play harder! We gotta play tougher! Harder, tougher, everything! Everything we got!”
— The Patriots began to get desperate on their next drive. They tried a failed trick-play double-pass by Edelman to Lewis.
Sanu: “They trying some (expletive). They’re trying everything now.”
— Brady helped extend the drive on a 15-yard scramble, and Sanu wasn’t feeling as comfortable anymore.
Sanu: “How we let them (expletive) scramble?”
—Â The Patriots scored a touchdown to end the third quarter, then settled for a field goal on their next drive to cut the Falcons’ lead to 28-12.
Bill Belichick, Patriots head coach: “We’re gonna need two more drives anyway, let’s go.”
Blount: “If we get a stop and score, we got plenty of (expletive) time. We just gotta score a (expletive) touchdown, bro.”
Dont’a Hightower, Patriots linebacker: “No more mistakes. No ‘my bad.’ None of that no more. Everything gotta be perfect. Everything’s gotta be perfect.”
Edelman to Brady: “Need a turnover. Need a turnover, D.”
— Hightower then strip-sacked Ryan, giving the Patriots the ball at Atlanta’s 25-yard line.
Danny Amendola, Patriots wide receiver: “Gotta believe, bro.”
Edelman: “Gotta believe. Gotta believe, boys.”
— The Patriots quickly drove down 25 yards for the touchdown and successful two-point conversion.
Dante Scarnecchia, Patriots offensive line coach: “We’re still in a go-for-two mode if we score again — when we score again.”
Matt Ryan, Falcons quarterback: “Do your job, we got it. Do your job, we got it.”
— Hopes flickered after the Falcons picked up 39 yards on a catch and run by Devonta Freeman and another 27 on a toe-tap grab by Jones.
Blount: “That’s an amazing catch. Every game we play in it’s always — every Super Bowl we play in — we’ve only played in two — but there’s always that one (expletive) catch, you know what I’m saying?”
— The Patriots knocked the Falcons out of field-goal range with a sack and a holding penalty, forcing a punt.
Blount: “We got Tom Brady. We got Tom Brady. We get into OT, it’s over with.”
— During the Patriots’ ensuing drive, Edelman made what should go down as the craziest catch in Super Bowl history, as the ball bounced off three Falcons and into his diving, double-clutched hands.
Edelman: “I caught it. I caught it. I caught it. I caught it. Crazy, I swear to god.”
Brian Poole, Falcons cornerback: “No way, look at that.”
Edelman: “Watch.”
Poole: “On the ground!”
Edelman: “No.”
Poole: “On the ground!”
Edelman: “No.”
Sanu: “I think he caught that.”
—Â Edelman lined up across from Alford on the next play.
Edelman: “That’s crazy. My bad.”
— The Patriots marched 91 yards down the field for a touchdown and two-point conversion to complete the game-tying drive before heading into overtime..
Blount: “He’s the best ever. Like, hands down, there is no competition. Not even close.”
Edelman: “Let’s score and win this thing, baby. For your mom. For your mom, bro.”
— It took the Patriots three minutes and 58 seconds to score the game-winning touchdown in overtime. As Edelman ran up to celebrate with Brady, the QB delivered some potentially bad news.
Brady to Edelman: “They gotta review it.”
— Edelman then ran around the field in a haze, ordering photographers and reporters off of it before finding Belichick.
Edelman: “Was it in? Get outta the way. Get off the field. It’s not over. It’s not over. Get the (expletive)Â off the field. Is it over?”
Belichick: “Yes.”
Edelman: “They gotta review it.”
Belichick: “They reviewed it.”
Edelman: “Did they?”
Belichick: “Yeah.”
Edelman: ::Guttural screaming into Belichick’s shoulder::
Edelman to Brady: “What did I say at halftime? ‘It’s gonna be a helluva story.’ I love you, bro.”
Belichick: “I love you guys. I love you guys.”
Blount: “I love you, baby.”
Belichick: “Way to go, men.”
Brady: “What a game.”
Blount: “You’re the greatest of all time. You’re the greatest. And you’re the (expletive) greatest.”
Edelman: “‘It’s going to be one helluva story.”
Belichick: “Oh my god, they counted us out 20 times.”
Edelman: “Gotta believe, coach.”
Belichick: “Oh, hell yeah.”
Edelman: “Gotta believe.”
Thumbnail photo via Robert Deutsch/USA TODAY Sports Images
