Here Are 7 Reasons Why The Atlanta Falcons Lost Super Bowl LI

ATLANTA, GA — One day after the Atlanta Falcons blew a a 25-point lead to lose the Super Bowl in overtime, 38-34, stunned fans are wondering how the New England Patriots staged a historic comeback against such odds. For more on the Falcons, subscribe to the Atlanta Patch. Or find your local Atlanta Patch.

Several times during the game, it was a foregone conclusion that there would be a parade on Peachtree Street at some point in the days ahead. But it was not to be. The Falcons somehow snatched defeat from victory.

For Patriots fans, the game shows America why Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time. For Falcons fans, it will forever be the one that got away. But how did it happen? Here are seven reasons why the Falcons lost Super Bowl LI:

Atlanta's defense 'ran out of gas': After holding the mighty Pats to 3 points in the first half, Coach Dan Quinn's vaunted defense began to fissure, allowing 31 points after Lady Gaga serenaded America. “Well, I think for sure we ran out of gas some,” Quinn said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I don’t know what the time of possession was, I didn’t look at that. But I can tell you how hard these guys battled for it.” After running for his life for most of three quarters, Brady began to pick the secondary apart in the fourth quarter, finding favorable match-ups with Danny Amendola and James White ... speaking of him.

Watch: Edelman make a catch for the ages

An ill-timed coach's challenge takes a much-needed timeout: With less than three minutes left, Patriots receiver Julian Edelman made an uncanny catch on a deflected ball. While that catch is great and all, it's what that play costs that helped beat Atlanta: Replay clearly showed that Edelman caught the ball, yet Falcons Coach Quinn unwisely throws a red flag to challenge it. Everyone in America saw that it was a catch, yet Atlanta wasted a valuable timeout that it would need later.

James White had the game of his life: Patriots running back James White, in his third year out of Wisconsin, had only five touchdowns all season. He is New England's second-tier back and didn't see a lot of action in 2016. But Sunday night, he scored two rushing touchdowns, torched the Falcons for 110 yards and broke the Super Bowl record for receptions with 14. He picked the most important game to turn it up. The Falcons apparently did not game plan for him.

Those two two-point conversions: In a little more than a quarter and a half, the Patriots needed to score three touchdowns. If that wasn't enough, they also need to score two two-point conversions, something that seemed highly unlikely. The NFL average for two-fors is less than 50 percent. Maybe they could convert one two-point conversion, but two? Who does that? Who allows that?

The 3-and-1 call: With less than six minutes left in the game, the Falcons pretty much need first downs at that point to milk the clock down. A field goal gives them an 11-point lead. A run play is the obvious play call here, but the Falcons go to a shotgun formation and try a pass play. Ryan is sacked and fumbles the ball. The play also falls on Falcons running back Devonta Freeman, who missed a huge block to slow the rusher.

That crucial 4th-quarter sack: On the play, much-heralded center Alex Mack got beat badly by Trey Flowers. Ryan did a deep stepback and gets sacked for a 12-yard loss. In a post-game interview, Ryan said that he regretted not throwing the ball away on the play, but honestly he didn't get a chance. The play meant the Falcons were pushed back to their 37. They would get a holding call on the next play, effectively knocking them out of field goal range.

Falcons evidently didn't trust their kicking game? Yes, there's a question mark here because it boggles the mind that Falcons kicker Matt Bryant would not get a shot late in the game to give the team a nearly insurmountable 11-point lead. The Falcons easily could have run the ball three times after Julio Jones' great tiptoe catch. Bryant would have been money from about 30 yards out. He had made 24 of 25 field goals between the 30- and 35-yard line before that, so it's no reason not to trust him. But the Falcons got there by being aggressive, so they lost that way as well.

All in all, football pundits are crediting Brady and Patriots coach Bill Belichick with a phenomenal game, and they deserve their due. But the overall feeling for many football fans is that Atlanta lost the game, rather than New England won it. However, what is not up to debate is the fact that the Patriots are Super Bowl LI champions.

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