The New England Patriots’ epic comeback against the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl — at one point they were down 28-3 midway through the third quarter — was unheard of prior to the game.
Before Super Bowl LI, no team in Super Bowl history had come back from a deficit greater than 10 points.
When the Patriots scored their first touchdown of the game, there was only 2:06 remaining in the third quarter. Ahead 28-9, the Falcons had a 98.9 percent chance to win the game, according to ESPN.
Falcons win probability after Patriots TD- 98.9% pic.twitter.com/l8RKJbFRAj
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 6, 2017
But as New England began to chisel away at the lead, scoring 31 unanswered points, the same probability graph began to climb dramatically for the Patriots, finally giving way when running back James White punched in the overtime touchdown.
A look at the dramatic turn in win probability in the Patriots’ Super Bowl win pic.twitter.com/1SYGxRBuEK
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 6, 2017
• Tommy Chalk can be reached at tchalk@washingtontimes.com.
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