How New England Turned 28–3 Into a Super Bowl LI Victory
The Patriots erased a 28–3 third-quarter deficit, forced overtime with 25 unanswered points and beat the Falcons 34–28 in Super Bowl LI.
Through February 4, 2026, the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history was the New England Patriots’ 25-point rally against the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. New England recovered from a 28–3 third-quarter deficit, scored 25 unanswered points to force overtime and won 34–28. The next-largest winning comebacks were six rallies from 10 points down, according to ESPN’s historical comparison.
Related: Longest Game in NFL History: Clock vs. Real Time.
The record: a 25-point comeback in Super Bowl LI
Atlanta took its largest lead with 8:31 remaining in the third quarter, when Matt Ryan’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Tevin Coleman made the score 28–3. New England then scored the final 31 points: 25 to tie the game in regulation and six on the winning overtime touchdown.
The record is measured by the largest deficit that the eventual winner overcame at any point:
28 − 3 = 25 points
That is different from the halftime deficit. Atlanta led 21–3 at the break, an 18-point margin, before Coleman’s touchdown reception increased the advantage to 25.
The final margin also does not measure the size of the comeback. New England won by six, but that figure describes the difference at the end of the game. Nor was the comeback itself 31 points: the Patriots erased the 25-point deficit to reach 28–28, then scored another six points after the tie to win.
Because the most recent supplied historical ranking was published before Super Bowl LX, the record comparison here is stated through February 4, 2026 rather than beyond that date.
Scoring timeline: from 28–3 to 34–28
The comeback unfolded over five consecutive New England scoring possessions. After a missed extra point on the first touchdown, the Patriots needed two fourth-quarter touchdowns and two successful two-point conversions to draw level. Stephen Gostkowski made a 33-yard field goal with 9:44 remaining in the fourth quarter Patriots 34-28 Falcons (Feb 5, 2017) Final Score - ESPN.
| Game stage | Scoring play or development | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 8:31, third quarter | Ryan’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Coleman gives Atlanta its maximum lead | Falcons 28–3 |
| 2:06, third quarter | Tom Brady finds James White for a 5-yard touchdown; the extra point fails | Falcons 28–9 |
| 9:48, fourth quarter | Stephen Gostkowski makes a 33-yard field goal | Falcons 28–12 |
| 5:56, fourth quarter | Brady throws a 6-yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola; White runs in the two-point conversion | Falcons 28–20 |
| 0:57, fourth quarter | White scores from 1 yard; Brady completes the two-point conversion to Amendola | Tied 28–28 |
| Overtime | White scores on a 2-yard run during New England’s opening possession | Patriots 34–28 |
The arithmetic explains a common source of confusion. New England scored 25 unanswered points in regulation to turn 28–3 into 28–28. White’s overtime touchdown added six more, bringing the Patriots’ full scoring run to 31 consecutive points and producing the 34–28 final score.
The sequence also shows why the two-point attempts mattered. After the missed extra point left New England at nine points, ordinary extra points following the two fourth-quarter touchdowns would not have been enough to tie the game. Both conversions had to succeed.
The plays that changed the game
New England’s rally required more than accumulating points. Several high-leverage plays changed possession, preserved drives or prevented Atlanta from restoring a two-score lead.
One of the most consequential was Dont’a Hightower’s fourth-quarter strip-sack of Ryan. Alan Branch recovered the fumble at Atlanta’s 25-yard line, giving the Patriots a short field while they trailed 28–12. Brady’s touchdown pass to Amendola and White’s two-point run followed, reducing a two-possession, 16-point deficit to one possession. The NFL’s film analysis identifies the turnover, New England’s passing adjustments and Atlanta’s late situational problems as central parts of the reversal.
The two-point conversions were not decorative additions to the comeback. White’s run after Amendola’s touchdown cut Atlanta’s lead to eight. After White scored with 57 seconds remaining, Brady’s conversion pass to Amendola supplied the final two points needed for a 28–28 tie.
Julian Edelman preserved that tying drive with its signature reception. It was a pivotal and improbable play in the comeback, although describing it as the greatest catch in Super Bowl history would be a matter of judgment rather than a statistical record.
Atlanta had already received a chance to rebuild its lead. Julio Jones made a difficult sideline catch that helped the Falcons advance to New England’s 22-yard line, where they were in position to threaten a field goal.
The late sequence illustrates how both teams shaped the outcome. Atlanta failed to protect favorable field position, but New England still had to create the negative plays and then drive for the tying score. Neither the Falcons’ errors nor the Patriots’ execution alone provides a complete account.
Tom Brady directed the rally and was named Super Bowl MVP, but the comeback was not an individual achievement. White scored three touchdowns and handled both a touchdown reception and a two-point run during the recovery. Edelman kept the tying drive alive, Hightower created a short field, the defense forced late stops, and the offensive line and other receivers helped New England sustain repeated possessions.
Why the momentum reversed
The change resulted from a combination of New England’s adjustments and execution, Atlanta’s situational problems and the workload placed on the Falcons’ defense.
Early in the game, Atlanta disrupted Brady’s preferred throws between the numbers. The Falcons’ coverage interfered with the timing of New England’s intermediate passing game, helping hold the Patriots to three points over their first seven possessions.
As the game progressed, Brady found more success throwing outside and underneath.
Possession magnified the effect. New England ran 93 offensive plays to Atlanta’s 46 and held the ball for 40:31, compared with 23:27 for the Falcons. White finished with 14 receptions and three touchdowns, according to the Patriots’ official Super Bowl LI recap and game notes.
Those figures provide context for the view that Atlanta’s defense tired, but they do not prove that fatigue was the single cause of the defeat. New England still had to convert a fourth down on its first touchdown drive, protect the football during the rally, complete both two-point attempts and finish the overtime possession. Atlanta’s offense, meanwhile, struggled to extend drives and committed costly errors while trying to protect its lead.
Clock management and play selection remain legitimate subjects for analysis. Atlanta could have allowed more time to run from the clock on some snaps, while its possession at New England’s 22 offered an opportunity to seek safer field-goal position. It would nevertheless be too strong to say that more running plays, or a field-goal attempt from a different position, would certainly have produced an Atlanta victory. Different decisions would have changed the remaining possibilities, not guaranteed one result.
How far ahead of the other Super Bowl comebacks was it?
Through February 4, 2026, six other Super Bowl champions had recovered from 10-point deficits. None approached New England’s 25-point rally.
| Super Bowl | Winning team | Largest deficit overcome |
|---|---|---|
| LI | New England Patriots | 25 points |
| XXII | Washington | 10 points |
| XLIV | New Orleans Saints | 10 points |
| XLIX | New England Patriots | 10 points |
| LIV | Kansas City Chiefs | 10 points |
| LVII | Kansas City Chiefs | 10 points |
| LVIII | Kansas City Chiefs | 10 points |
The gap between the record and the next tier was therefore 15 points. Before Super Bowl LI, no champion had overcome a deficit larger than 10 points. New England did not narrowly surpass the previous standard; its 25-point recovery was two and a half times as large.
Super Bowl LI was also the first Super Bowl to reach overtime and the first to be decided there. New England won the coin toss and drove for White’s 2-yard touchdown on the opening possession. The coin toss gave the Patriots the first opportunity, but they still had to complete the scoring drive.
The objective record rests on three defining numbers: a 25-point deficit, a rally from 28–3 and a 34–28 overtime victory. Whether Super Bowl LI was the greatest Super Bowl ever played—or Atlanta’s defeat the worst collapse—is subjective. The size of the comeback is measurable: through February 4, 2026, it stood 15 points above every other listed winning rally.