Ok, it happened. It really happened. On Sunday, February 5th, Michael Scott was screaming “NO GOD PLEASE NO” and Obi-wan Kenobi said that “millions of voices cried out in terror.” That’s right, the Patriots have won Super Bowl 51.

Love them or hate them though, this was the greatest Super Bowl comeback of all time and every football fan should be able to appreciate that. After being down 21-3 at the half, the Patriots blew up the Falcons in the second half by bringing the game to overtime and eventually winning. The question that needs to be asked though, which half was more of a surprise?

The first half was a surprise because the Patriots failed to score a touchdown. The Falcons came out firing on all cylinders. On both sides of the ball, they knew how to handle the Patriots. They only allowed 3 points in the first half, but they also scored 3 touchdowns against the best defense in the NFL. Devonta Freeman was a master in this game coming up with 75 rushing yards and 46 receiving yards. Then there was Julio Jones who came out of this game with numerous great catches and that amounted to 87 yards. Nobody was more on their game for the Falcons though, than their defensive line. More specifically, Grady Jarrett. Jarrett came out with 3 sacks against Brady and an offensive line that has done a great job in protecting their quarterback this season. If the Falcons had ended up with the win, Jarrett might have deserved to win the Super Bowl MVP… but that’s just it. They didn’t win. Because the Patriots had the greatest comeback of all time in the second half.

If you say that you saw this comeback coming, You’re a liar. It was a comeback for the ages. The Patriots were down 28-3 at one point, but then Tom Brady decided that he wanted to win another one and let America down. Brady looked horrible in the first half. The offensive line wasn’t doing its job so he was in trouble a lot but even when he threw the ball, a lot of the times it wasn’t where it needed to be. This led to being down by 25 points and throwing a pick 6 in the process. Late in the 3rd quarter though, in Tom Brady fashion he turned it on. The Patriots would go on to not only tie the game but win it in overtime. One moment that football fans will never forget was the catch. Julian Edelman made an amazing catch in the fourth quarter, and just think about how that changed the outcome. If Edelman didn’t make the catch, the Patriots’ momentum could have been lost, and the Falcons could have won and the rest would be history. But that is NOT what happened. Tom Brady would win his 4th Super Bowl MVP and that game was history.

This game is up there on greatest-of-all-time list and it is a Super Bowl that football fans will not forget about for years to come. The Julian Edelman catch is one that will be replayed for decades and years from now. Whether you love Tom Brady and the Patriots or not, you will be calling Brady the greatest football player of all time.

* photo via Google Images under the Creative Commons license