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Five thoughts about Super Bowl LI:
A rare winning collaboration for BYU and Utah • Former BYU linebacker Kyle Van Noy and ex-Utah cornerback Eric Rowe have become good friends since arriving in New England via trades. In their first season together, they became only the fifth NFL teammates from the two schools to win a Super Bowl, via New England's 34-28 overtime defeat of Atlanta on Sunday in Houston.
The list includes Utah's Carl Monroe and BYU's Tom Holmoe, Bill Ring and Todd Shell with San Francisco in Super Bowl XIX; Utah's Del Rodgers and BYU's Steve Young and Holmoe with San Francisco in Super Bowl XXIII; Utah's Chris Kemoeatu and BYU's Brett Keisel and Chris Hoke with Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLIII; and Utah's Ma'ake Kemoeatu, Paul Kruger and David Reed and BYU's Dennis Pitta with Baltimore in Super Bowl XLIII.
New England's defense contributes to the comeback • In a weird game in which Atlanta's offense ran only 41 plays, the Patriots' defense deserves credit for stopping the Falcons on every possession after the first drive of the second half, when Atlanta took a 28-3 lead.
Rowe might have been remembered for his role in Julio Jones' phenomenal catch along the sideline in the fourth quarter, as Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan barely threaded the ball over Rowe's arms. But with a 28-20 lead, Atlanta went backward and ended up punting. Rowe was involved in four tackles.
Van Noy was credited with only an assisted tackle, but it was vital. He joined Trey Flowers in sacking Ryan on a third-down play late in the third quarter when the Patriots trailed 28-9.
Three points proved to be important • One of the underrated coaching decisions of the game came with New England still down 28-9. The Patriots faced fourth and goal from the 15-yard line after Tom Brady was sacked on third down. Even with less than 10 minutes remaining, coach Bill Belichick recognized the value of cutting the lead to 16 points, so he ordered a field goal. New England's comeback still required two touchdowns and two two-point conversions, but that field goal was helpful.
The Falcons could have used three more points • As much as the wearing down of Atlanta's defense contributed to the team's fourth-quarter crumbling, the offense failed to do its part. The Falcons drove from their 10-yard line to the New England 22 (via Jones' catch), but they couldn't add to a 28-20 lead in the last four minutes.
Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, who's about to become San Francisco's head coach, will have to live with his play-calling sequence that resulted in a punt.
After running back Devonta Freeman was stopped for a 1-yard loss, Shanahan called a dropback pass and Ryan was sacked by Flowers for a 12-yard loss. That play wouldn't have been a killer by itself, but it was followed a holding penalty that moved Atlanta out of field-goal range.
By running the ball on second and third downs, the Falcons could have kicked about a 37-yard field goal for an 11-point lead, while forcing New England to use timeouts. Who knows, maybe Brady and the Patriots still would have found a way to force overtime. But those potential three points would have meant a lot at the time.
All praise to Brady and Belichick • Atlanta was the better team for most of Sunday's game, but there's a reason these contests last 60 minutes (or longer). New England deserved to win in the end. While any comeback requires some cooperation from the other guys, the Patriots showed tremendous poise and toughness in rallying to win.
The buildup to Super Bowl LI featured the opportunities for Brady and Belichick to become the winningest quarterback and coach (and QB/coach combination) in Super Bowl history with a fifth championship. They certainly made those milestones memorable.
Twitter: @tribkurt