The Best Way the Falcons Can Beat The Patriots

The Atlanta Falcons have the best offense in the NFL, led by an MVP-caliber quarterback in Matt Ryan. But to get the franchise’s first Super Bowl victory they are going to have to beat the New England Patriots, owners of the league’s top defense.

Here are the three keys for how the Falcons can execute the perfect game plan to win Super Bowl LI.

The easiest way to dictate game flow is to snag an early lead, and the Falcons showed an ability to do that during the season, including the playoffs. They led the league with the most opening drives with a score (11) and have scored on their opening drive in eight straight games, including the NFC championship game against the Green Bay Packers.

[Here is the perfect Super Bowl LI plan for the New England Patriots]

When leading, Atlanta has been able to maintain a 50/50 split between running and passing plays but sees that ratio move to 40/60 when trailing. Coach Bill Belichick is a football genius on a regular day, but give him insight into a team’s play-calling tendencies and his ability to game plan becomes that much harder to overcome.

-A fast start will also put pressure on Tom Brady … not from the scoreboard but from the pass rush. Just as the Patriots will be better able to anticipate the Falcons’ play-calls if the Falcons are trailing, should the Pats need to pass often the Falcons’ pass-rushers will be able to chase Brady without fear of a handoff. And pass-rushing pressure has been the single biggest factor in tripping up Brady throughout his stellar career. Speaking of …

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Falcons And Patriots Super Bowl

-The New England Patriots will compete in their N.F.L.-record ninth Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 5 in Houston, matched up against Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons’ top-ranked offense. Here’s what to look for in Super Bowl LI:

- Tom Brady set a personal postseason record with 384 passing yards in the Patriot AFC Championship, but he may have even more opportunities against a Falcons defense that had been weak all season until it delivered a shockingly-effective performance against Green Bay in the N.F.C. championship game.

-The Falcons were able to pummel an injury-depleted Packers defense, but will have a lot more trouble against a New England defense that traded away two of its biggest stars and seemed to only get better, holding opponents to an N.F.L.-low 15.4 points a game this season

- Both teams will be looking for more from their running games. The Patriots managed just 57 rushing yards and the Falcons, despite a pair of highly-regarded running backs in Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, had just 101, with 23 coming from quarterback Matt Ryan.

-While Brady and Ryan may not provide much bulletin-board material in the weeks leading up to the game, fans and journalists can look forward to extended access with the outspoken Martellus Bennett of the Patriots. And people may finally get a chance to appreciate just how great Julio Jones of the Falcons has been throughout his career.