NFL: Super Bowl LI Comparison
After Wild Card Weekend, the Divisional Round, and Conference Championship games, we are a combined 15-5 (Post: 8-2, Henderson: 7-3) in our playoff predictions, and with only one game remaining in the 2016-17 NFL campaign, we are here to give a quick run-down of the matchup and select our respective champions.
Before we get to who we believe will be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, check out our comparison of the quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, defenses, and special teams of the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons.
Quarterback (Tom Brady vs. Matt Ryan)
Post: Matt Ryan (4,944 yards, 38 touchdowns, 69.9 completion percentage) has been the best player in the NFL this season and I whole heartedly believe he deserves to be the league MVP, but let's not kid ourselves. Tom Brady and the Patriots have the upper hand at the game's most important position. Brady (3,554 yards, 28 touchdowns, 67.4 completion percentage) has been incredible since his 4-game suspension to begin the season. He has been dynamite in the playoffs and has four Super Bowl rings to rely on. Brady has the edge, no way around it.
Advantage: Tom Brady (New England).
Henderson: While Matt Ryan is a very good QB in his own right and will likely win the NFL MVP this year, it’s hard to not give the edge to the guy who will make his 7th Super Bowl start this Sunday.
Advantage: Tom Brady (New England).
Running Backs (LeGarrette Blount, Dion Lewis vs. Devonta Freeman, Tevin Coleman)
Post: Give me the two-header monster from Atlanta in this one. Devonta Freeman (1,079 yards) and Tevin Coleman (520 yards) have been extremely effective for much of the season, and especially lately. LeGarrette Blount (1,161 yards) is probably the best back of the four, but Dion Lewis (283) isn't as good of a back-up as Coleman is on the opposite sideline. The Falcons barely miss a beat when the former Indiana Hoosier enters the game. For that reason, I'll give a leg up to the ATL.
Advantage: Freeman & Coleman (Atlanta).
Henderson: Dion Lewis is a great receiving back and Blount is a great power back, but those two simply aren’t close to the dynamic duo of Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman.
Advantage: Freeman & Coleman (Atlanta).
Receivers (Edelman, Hogan, Amendola vs. Jones, Sanu, Hardy)
Post: This is a difficult one because the obvious choice is to go with the Falcons and the best wideout in the game: Julio Jones (1,409 yards, 6 touchdowns), but it's not that easy. Julian Edelman (1,106 yards, 3 touchdowns) is an experience route runner, while Chris Hogan (680 yards, 4 touchdowns) has been on fire as of late. Sanu, Hardy, and Taylor Gabriel add enough to give Jones room to work, and because of that, the Falcons have a better receiving corps than Edelman, Hogan, Amendola, and Co.
Advantage: Jones, Sanu, & Hardy (Atlanta).
Henderson: While Julio Jones is one of the best receivers in football, Mohammed Sanu and Taylor Gabriel have been elevated by Matt Ryan and simply aren’t on the level of Danny Amendola and Chris Hogan.
Advantage: Edelman, Hogan, & Amendola (New England).
Defense (No. 8 Patriots vs. No. 25 Falcons)
Post: Patriots. Zero hesitation. New England is No. 8 overall in team defense (allows 326.4 yards per game) and is No. 3 overall in stopping the run (allows 88.6 rushing yards per game), while being No. 1 overall in points per game (allows 15.6 points per game). Atlanta, on the other hand struggled to start the season and didn't come around until Week 13. The Falcons rank No. 25 in team defense (allows 371.2 yards per game). However, Vic Beasley Jr. (15.5 sacks) led the league in sacks and has allowed the Atlanta defense to bend but not break. Even with that said, I still give the Pats a pretty big advantage.
Advantage: New England.
Henderson: Atlanta has a few impact players in edge rusher Vic Beasley and surprising rookie Deion Jones, but while New England may not be known for their defense, they have a ton of talent on it and it remains really good.
Advantage: New England.
Special Teams (Stephen Gostkowski, Dion Lewis vs. Matt Bryant, Eric Weems)
Post: This one is pretty close but I'll give the slight advantage to New England, mostly because of experience. Gostkowski has been apart of multiple title runs for the Patriots, and is hitting 84.4 percent of his field goals, including a long of 53 yards. Although, Bryant has been a bit better, nailing 91.9 percent of his field goals, including a long of 59 yards. On the other end of the spectrum, returning the ball, the Patriots have 542 return yards to the Falcons' 484 yards.
Advantage: New England.
Henderson: Stephen Gostkowski has been one of the better kickers in the NFL, but he has been inconsistent over the past couple seasons while Atlanta’s Matt Bryant has been consistently good. In the return game, Dion Lewis is a big time threat to take a kick back, and the Falcons don’t have that guy on roster.
Advantage: Wash.
Super Bowl LI: No. 2 Atlanta Falcons (13-5) vs. No. 1 New England Patriots (16-2)
Post: I will take the New England Patriots. As you can see, I gave the Pats a 3-2 edge in the five categories above. I just love watching Brady work his way down the field, hitting Edelman and Hogan over the middle of the field on simple hitch- and slant-routes, and I don't think Atlanta will be able to contain this offense. The Falcons have an efficient and explosive offense of their own, but I trust Belichick's defense to hone in on Jones and limit his ability, in order to win his fifth Super Bowl title, alongside Brady.
Final Score: Atlanta 19, New England 27.
Most Valuable Player: Tom Brady (QB).
Henderson: While Atlanta has an amazing offense, their defense is simply lacking the ability to shut down the Patriots offense. New England has a top 10 defense as well as a high powered offense that should be able to hold off the Falcons.
Final Score: Atlanta 28, New England 31.
Most Valuable Player: Tom Brady (QB).
Photo Credit: Chicago Sun Times.
