Well football fans, this is it. The final game of this NFL season will be taking place this Sunday down in Houston, Texas as the New England Patriots take on the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. The Patriots entered the playoffs as the number one seed in the AFC after winning the AFC East with a 14-2 record. As for the Falcons, they were the NFC’s number two seed, the NFC South champs and ended the regular season with a 11-5 record.
The Pats have run through the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers to arrive at this point. Tom Brady will be looking for his fifth Super Bowl ring this time around. The club will certainly be dangerous, as they possess both a solid offense and a formidable defense. Brady knows how to utilize his weapons to score points, which will come in handy against the NFL’s best offensive team. Meanwhile, the defense was not only solid in the regular season, but has looked pretty sharp in the playoffs as well.
As for the Falcons, they took down the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers in order to reach this point. Not only did they beat the Packers, they dismantled them. Before that game, Aaron Rodgers was the hottest player in football. But then the Falcons defense really stepped up, to go along with their high octane offense. We know that their offense never has issues scoring points, but it is the current play of their defensive unit that makes them scary for the Patriots this weekend. Will the defense that showed up against Green Bay show up in Houston? Or did they fire their best bullet?
So with both teams capable of putting up monster offensive numbers, you would imagine the over is a lock, right? Well not so fast. I have a sneaky feeling these defenses will come to play this Sunday, and the game will have a lower score total than most expect. There will still be plenty of points, just not at the level of the high over/under that is set at 59.
[Kenny]
One final note. I am completely torn in terms of who I think will actually win this game. I can see making the argument for both clubs with ease. So my rule of thumb in a circumstance like that is to always take the underdog. So while I certainly think New England can win this game, I could very well see it being by only a point. So my gut tells me to go with Atlanta in terms of the spread.
Line: NE -3, O/U: 59
Prediction: Patriots 28- Falcons 27, Falcons and the under