It’s that time of the year again. It seems as if Malcolm Butler just picked off Russell Wilson in Super Bowl 49. The Patriots are back and are playing a new fan favorite, the Atlanta Falcons. Both teams have had extraordinary seasons, and both are pretty evenly matched. Now, the fun question everyone wants to debate, who will win?

On one side, you have the Atlanta Falcons who have been historically phenomenal this season. The Falcons have morphed their offense into one of the greatest of all time.

The Falcons put up 540 points, first in the league and seventh most points in a season all time. That’s 176 points above league average, and equivalent to 90 TDs. NINETY touchdowns in one year? That’s absurd. The Falcons have drawn comparisons to the ‘Greatest Show on Turf”. The ‘99-’01 Rams lit up the scoreboard just like the Falcons have this year.

This season, the Falcons have scored 30 points in 11 games, which is third all time, and 40 points in 5 games. Most of this can be attributed to Matt Ryan, who should easily be the MVP.

Matt Ryan has had an incredibly historic season himself. Boasting a league best 4,944 passing yards with 38 TDs and only 7 interceptions, this left him with a QBR rating of 117.1 and total QBR rating of 83.3. This stat line has only been done two other times, by the bad-man Aaron Rodgers, and ironically enough, Tom Brady.

Everyone knows Tom Brady, and what he is capable of doing. He has led arguably one of the greatest dynasties in the modern sports era, ever. 

Despite missing the first four games to a suspension, Tom Brady put up some quality numbers this season as well. Passing for 3,554 yards, 28 TDs, and just two interceptions. All of that to go along with a 112.2 QBR rating, quite impressive for missing a fourth of the season. Brady seems like he is on a mission to prove Deflategate had nothing to do with his performance. 

Tom Brady is one of, if not the greatest quarterback of all time. With four Super Bowl wins, three Super Bowl MVPs, and two regular season MVPs, it’s really hard to say he’s not the GOAT.

Looking nothing like a 39 year old playing in the NFL, some might think it’s safe to say he’s got this win in the bag. With all of the experience he’s had in nearly the past two decades, I might think it would be safe to say that, too.

But, there’s just something about this Falcons offense. They are hungry. They are the new kids on the block and they have tremendous will and put forth a lot of effort in each game. I think they stand a really good chance in knocking off the Patriots in Super Bowl 51. If anyone can do it, it’s the Falcons. If the Patriots do pull it off, it will be fun to see Roger Goodell hand over the Lombardi Trophy to Robert Kraft and Brady. 

Prediction: Falcons 42  Patriots 38