Not just any team can come back from a 25-point deficit in just 23 1/2 minutes at the grandest state. The New England Patriots managed it in Super Bowl LI, and defensive end Chris Long explained on Barstool Sports’ podcast “Pardon My Take” why and how they were able to mount that comeback over the Atlanta Falcons.
“Honestly, not to be too serious for a second, but, like, I really do think I just played on the toughest team of all time,” Long said. “The guys in that locker room, like, literally did not flinch. I knew I was like, I’m a human being, I was like, ‘Golly, like I got some doubts right now. We gotta play way better in the second half and this that in the third.’ Guys were like, walking in like Duron Harmon, who’s a safety for us, walked in and goes, ‘We’re about to make the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history,’ and I was like, ‘Dude, can we get a stop? Can we just like do one good thing? Maybe put one foot in front of the other?’
“But like if it wasn’t for guys like Duron who had no doubt, I’m not used to this winning thing. Maybe to guys that have been around there for a while, they’re like, ‘Well, (expletive) will just work out. You know? I didn’t have that instinct for whatever reason. But yeah, it wasn’t like a big speech. We just went back out and did it.”
Long told “Pardon My Take” co-hosts Big Cat and PFTCommenterhe’s not hanging up his cleats following the 2016 season.
“I’m not retiring,” Long said. “But I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Long signed a one-year contract with the Patriots prior to the 2016 season. He had 35 tackles, four sacks and one forced fumble during the regular season in 16 games and seven starts.
Click to listen to the entire episode >>
Thumbnail photo via John David Mercer/USA TODAY Sports Images
