What is the largest Super Bowl halftime deficit a team has overcome?
It was over.
Or so it seemed.
The Atlanta Falcons led the New England Patriots 21-3 at halftime during Super Bowl LI.
No team had ever erased a double-digit halftime deficit to win the Super Bowl.
But none of those teams had Tom Brady as their quarterback.
The Patriots would make history by climbing out of that 18-point halftime hole and stunning Atlanta 34-28 in overtime for their fifth Super Bowl title with Brady and coach Bill Belichick.
Complete coverage of the Kansas City Chiefs’ win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII from Glendale, Ariz.
They also set the record for largest overall deficit overcome to win a Super Bowl, after Atlanta quarterback and league MVP Matt Ryan led his team on an 85-yard touchdown drive for a 25-point lead midway through the third quarter.
Then Brady started playing like the legend he is.
Down by 16 with less than six minutes remaining in regulation, Brady led drives that culminated in a six-yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola (and a conversion run by James White) and a one-yard touchdown run by White (and a Brady-to-Amendola conversion pass) to tie the score at 28.
The Patriots won the coin toss to start overtime, and the Falcons offense never saw the field. Brady started the drive with five straight completions for 50 yards. Four plays later, White ran the ball two yards into the end zone to complete the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history.
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
