Fansided

Super Bowl power rankings: Who’s the best loser?

By John Buhler

HOUSTON, TX - FEBRUARY 05: Matt Ryan
HOUSTON, TX - FEBRUARY 05: Matt Ryan /
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FOXBOROUGH – OCTOBER 22: Fans display the score in last year’s Super Bowl before the New England Patriots’ comeback win against the Atlanta Falcons. The New England Patriots hosted the Atlanta Falcons in an NFL regular season football game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., Oct. 22, 2017. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH – OCTOBER 22: Fans display the score in last year’s Super Bowl before the New England Patriots’ comeback win against the Atlanta Falcons. The New England Patriots hosted the Atlanta Falcons in an NFL regular season football game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., Oct. 22, 2017. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /

50. 2017 Atlanta Falcons, Super Bowl LI

Everything seemed to line up perfectly for the Atlanta Falcons. For once in the history of the franchise, a winning team was in place with an MVP quarterback throwing to a franchise wide receiver. Dan Quinn had crafted a defense that could fly from sideline to sideline, stifling offenses and forcing them to be one-dimensional.

All the Falcons needed to do was make sure they avoided shooting themselves in the foot. When they amassed a 28-3 lead on the New England Patriots it looked like nothing could go wrong.

Then it did.

No team can be taken seriously if it has the type of talent the Falcons did that year and find a way to blow a 24-point lead. Not only that but they blew it in the biggest game of their season and the biggest game of those players careers. Not running the ball as much as they could have in the second half exposed the Falcons flaws that take them from being a really good team to one of the worst Super Bowl teams we’ve ever seen. Really good teams actually win the Super Bowl, they do not blow a 28-3 lead.

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