Top 10 storylines for Super Bowl LI

The week leading up to Super Bowl LI hasn’t necessarily been filled with the drama of previous years. There’s no Marshawn Lynch to go to war with the media. The entire Deflategate drama seems to be defused. Even then, there’s still things happening behind the scenes.

With that said, most of the focus here has been about the game itself. That’s a refreshing change from what we have seen in the past. It’s also important due to the gravity of this matchup. It’s not your normal Super Bowl. It has the ability to be one of the most-competitive championship games in recent NFL history.

Super Bowl LI pits a 14-win New England Patriots team and its No. 1-ranked scoring defense against MVP candidate Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons top-scoring offense. It’s just the sixth time since the merger that this has happened.

The game itself also brings history into the equation. Can Tom Brady surpass Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw for the most Super Bowl wins for a quarterback in NFL history? Can Bill Belichick surpass Chuck Noll for the most Lombardi’s among NFL head coaches?

The backstory here is Matt Ryan trying to elevate his game against the best the football world has ever offered. He will be doing so throwing the rock to an elite-level receiver in Julio Jones who could also have a record in his sights. All the while, Jones will be matching up against a corner in Malcolm Butler who envisioned this day five years ago while playing at West Alabama.

These are among the top-10 storylines for Super Bowl LI between the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots.

1. Potential to be best Super Bowl in years

Super Bowl LI has the potential to be the best we have seen in some time. We’ll get into the nuts and bolts in the blurb that follows, but the writing seems to be on the wall here.

We have the two top MVP candidates, one of which will likely receive the NFL’s top individual honor less than 24 hours before kickoff in Houston. We have Tom Brady going for the record books. We have Bill Belichick looking to add to his legacy. The backdrop here being the league’s top-scoring offense going up against its best defense.

This is what NFL fans need after what was a less-than-stellar playoff slate leading up to the Super Bowl. In fact, eight of the 10 games thus far have been decided by 13-plus points. The only exception here were the two games that took place on Sunday during the divisional round.

As it relates to recent Super Bowl history, four of the past six have been decided by one score. Two of those games pretty much came down to the last play with Malcolm Butler sealing the Pats win over Seattle in Super Bowl XLIX and a Ravens goal-line stand sending the to victory against the 49ers one year before that.

We can expect a similar outcome in this game. All six of the Patriots’ Super Bowls under Belichick have come down to the final drive. With the best going up against the best here, this wouldn’t be a surprise end result come Sunday.

2. NFL’s top offense vs NFL’s top defense 

This is just the sixth time since the merger that the league’s top-scoring offense has taken on its top-scoring defense in the Super Bowl. That makes Sunday’s game one of the most-intriguing we have seen come down the pike in some time. The numbers themselves jump out to you in an instant.

Atlanta is averaging 39 points per game in its past six outings (all wins). It finished the regular season ranked first in the NFL in scoring, second in total offense, third in passing, fifth in rushing yards and second in first downs. Overall, the Falcons’ offense has put up 30-plus points in all but five games this season.

On the other hand, New England yielded the fewest points in the NFL during the regular season while also finding itself ranked in the top 10 in total yards allowed.

Some of the Patriots’ success on that side of the ball had to do with an offense that simply didn’t turn the ball over. After all, Tom Brady and Co. gave the ball away a grand total of 11 times during the regular season. Interestingly enough, that tied for the fewest in the NFL with the Falcons.

As we mentioned above, this is the sixth time the No. 1 offense has taken on the No. 1 defense in the Super Bowl since the merger. The team with the top defense has come out on top four of the previous five times. The only exception here was when Joe Montana’s San Francisco 49ers throttled John Elway’s Denver Broncos by the score of 55-10 in Super Bowl XXIV.

3. Bill Belichick’s place in history 

This will be Belichick’s 10th Super Bowl appearance as either a head coach or an assistant coach. Yes folks, that means he’s taken part in nearly one-fifth of the league’s championship battles.

He’s currently tied with the great Don Shula for the most appearances as a head coach — a record Belichick will break once Super Bowl LI kicks off Sunday afternoon. With a win on Sunday, Belichick will also break Chuck Noll’s mark for the most Super Bowl victories with five. Needless to say, the Pats’ coach is up their with the best in the history of the game.

Heck, there’s even been some tongue-in-cheek thought given to the idea that the Lombardi Trophy should now be named after Belichick (more on that here).

Speaking of history, that will ultimately judge where Belichick stands among the game’s best. Unlike those mentioned above, and even adding Bill Walsh to the equation, New England’s head coach has dealt with controversy after controversy throughout his career.

From Spygate to Deflategate, some have drawn the conclusion that there should be an asterisk placed by Belichick’s name in the history books. As ridiculous as that might sound, history itself is judged by those covering the game and those who enjoy watching the game.

And it’s not a secret that the Patriots are public enemy No. 1 around the league today. Whether that matures like fine wine remains to be seen. But it’s most definitely a backstory heading into Super Bowl LI, especially with the drama currently taking place between Belichick’s Patriots and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

4. Matt Ryan’s shining moment 

Ryan has an opportunity here. He’s already proven himself as a big-game quarterback. Really, that’s not even in question anymore after the performances we saw him put up against the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers in the two playoff games leading up to the Super Bowl.

That right there is the reason the conversation surrounding Ryan has morphed from regular season quarterback to someone that can produce when January comes calling.

Surely the Falcons have a more well-rounded team that we have seen in the past. That’s why they are actually playing for the right to win the franchise’s first Super Bowl. But in reality, it’s the performance of Ryan under center that has been the determining factor here. He’s not turning the ball over. He’s coming off two games in which he outplayed Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers — two Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks.

Ryan can now etch his name into football lore with a superior performance in a win over a player in Tom Brady that some view to be the greatest of all-time. In no way would this make Ryan himself somehow leap into the conversation of the best quarterbacks of this era. But it would surely go a long way in cementing his status as one of the top quarterbacks in today’s NFL.

While Brady himself has records on the line here, Ryan has his reputation on the line. Most of us will point to his performance this past January as a reason why he’s elevated his stock. But naysayers will definitely come calling should Ryan put up a horrendous performance in Super Bowl LI. Such is the nature of the beast in an NFL climate that sees the media and fans put everything under a microscope.

5. The Julio Jones dynamic 

If we were to wager a prop bet on one record that make fall come Sunday, it would be on Jones breaking Jerry Rice’s single-game Super Bowl record for receiving yards (215). Here’s a dude that’s already tallied a 300-yard game and a 180-yard game on the season. In fact, Jones has put up 100-plus receiving yards in 14 of his past 25 games.

Surely, Jones is going to have a difficult time being matched up against Malcolm Butler. We’ve already covered how good Butler has been in the lead up to the Super Bowl (read that here). But Jones is the type of player that takes these elite-level duels and uses them as motivation on game day. He tallied nearly 400 receiving yards in four games against the likes of Marcus Peters, Aqib Talib, Richard Sherman and Patrick Peterson during the regular season. That’s what we’d call putting on a show against the best the NFL has to offer.

It’s also important to note here that Matt Ryan doesn’t shy away from targeting Jones. He was thrown at 20 times in the first two playoff games, one of which included a matchup against the aforementioned Sherman. Considering just how well Ryan has performed this season, there’s no real reason to believe he will avoid Jones against Butler.

In a game that’s expected to be high-scoring and with the Falcons needing to put up a lot of points to keep up with a high-flying Patriots offense, the Jones dynamic is real here. He has to put up a huge performance if Atlanta is going to pull the upset. Despite a difficult opponent, look for Jones to do just that.

6. Unseating the favorites 

The two Super Bowls that New England has lost during the Brady-Belichick era both came with the team as heavy favorites against the New York Giants. Maybe Eli Manning and Co. are an outlier. It’s possible that the Giants could be the one team that will end up being able to solve this Patriots squad in the big game. Then again, New England is facing an offensive juggernaut in the form of a Falcons team that heads into Sunday’s game as three-point underdogs.

We’ve discussed just how well Shanahan’s offense has performed this season. It really is the primary reason Atlanta finds itself in the Super Bowl. But in reality, it is going to take a team effort to get this done.

The Falcons’ pass defense ranked in the bottom five during the regular season and yielded 31 passing touchdowns. Taking on one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, that unit must step up in this one. Simply put, Ryan and Co. will not be able to outscore the Patriots if we’re looking at a 35-31 football game here.

In the seven games that the Falcons have yielded less than 24 points this season, they boast a perfect 7-0 mark. They are also outscoring their opponents by an average of nearly 20 points per game in those seven outings. This includes a combined 39 points differential in the two playoffs games heading into Sunday’s championship bout.

It would be foolish to conclude that the Patriots will be blown out here. It would also be foolish to believe that the Falcons themselves will be blown out. That’s where a couple key plays on defense can make a big difference for Atlanta. Whether it’s Vic Beasley’s matchup against Marcus Cannon or rookie Deion Jones play-making ability, this needs to happen in order for the Falcons to pull the upset.

7. Under-the-radar impact players 

We covered unheralded Super Bowl MVP candidates a bit earlier in the week. And in reality, there’s a good chance one of these players will earn the game’s top individual honor. Just look at the history for a second.

We’ve seen the likes of Malcolm Smith, Deion Branch, Dexter Jackson and Santonio Holmes win the Super Bowl MVP award over the past 14 years. While those four players were obviously key contributors for their teams, they have combined for exactly zero Pro Bowl performances. Odds are one of the under-the-radar players in Super Bowl LI will come away with the hardware.

One must first look at soon-to-be free agents. Remember, Smith cashed in when it came to free agency with the Oakland Raiders after putting up his MVP performance back in Super Bowl XLVIII. We also can’t forget the cash former Dallas Cowboys corneback Larry Brown earned from the very same Raiders after his performance against Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XXX.

Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett is dealing with a serious ankle injury, but he could very well be close to 100 percent by the time Sunday comes calling. If so, he’s a top candidate to be one of the best under-the-radar performers here. After all, Atlanta did yield the ninth-most receiving yards to tight ends on the season.

If we’re looking on the same side of the ball, why not check out Chris Hogan? The Pats’ receiver put up a franchise playoff-best 180 yards and two touchdowns against Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship Game. He’s also taking on a Falcons defense that ranked in the bottom five against the pass during the regular year.

On the Falcons’ side, a certain under-the-radar linebacker could potentially nab the top individual honor for the Super Bowl. Of course, we’re talking about first-year player Deion Jones. The LSU product was absolute dynamite during the regular season. He recorded 106 tackles, three interceptions, 11 passes defended and two touchdowns. Jones hasn’t disappointed in the playoffs either.

Outside of the somewhat overrated MVP award, it’s these under-the-radar performers that will have a huge role in the outcome of the game. Whether it’s another long touchdown from Chris Hogan, an opportunistic interception from Deion Jones or a game-breaking play by Tevin Coleman, look for one of these guys to make a huge impact.

8. Shanahan looking to go out on top 

Now considered an offensive genius after what he’s been able to accomplish with the Falcons this season, Kyle Shanahan will soon move on to the San Francisco 49ers as their next head coach. He’s hoping to do so with a Super Bowl ring under his belt.

While Shanahan is busy helping create a game plan that will take out the league’s No. 1 scoring defense, he’s also working with the 49ers to build both a coaching staff and a front office. Over the past several days, that has included bringing on John Lynch as general manager and a highly respected Adam Peters to the front office.

For Shanahan, this hasn’t necessarily acted as a distraction.

“The one thing that I know is that I’ll have no regrets about this Super Bowl,” Shanahan said, via CSN Bay Area. “I’m 100-percent committed to thinking about this and I know from living my life and watching how it’s done from my dad that this game is something you remember forever and I would never do anything to jeopardize that.”

Shanahan might not have experience dealing with something similar to this. Though, Falcons head coach Dan Quinn surely does. He was hired by Atlanta immediately after his former Seattle Seahawks squad lost to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl a couple years back.

The same can be said for Shanahan’s father, Mike, who was hired as the Denver Broncos’ head coach after helping lead the 49ers to a Super Bowl victory back in 1994 as the team’s offensive coordinator.

This is a long way to say that Falcons fans shouldn’t necessarily worry about his commitment to prepping for the Super Bowl. It’s what the team will have to deal with after his departure which could hurt Atlanta more down the road. Maybe Chip Kelly could solve that problem.

9. All the background noise 

There’s so much going on behind the scenes heading into Super Bowl LI that it might simply be too much to cover. Fortunately, none of it surrounds drama involving the players themselves. And it really hasn’t taken the spotlight off the teams themselves.

Instead, it’s about a commissioner in Roger Goodell who has avoided Gillette Stadium in New England like the plague after handing Tom Brady a four-game suspension to start the year. There’s definitely an interesting dynamic in play here.

How will it all play out should Goodell take to the podium to hand Patriots owner Robert Kraft the Lombardi Trophy? Will they exchange niceties? How will the entire Brady dynamic play out? This is a dramatic storyline within the larger confines of a game that could mark the Patriots’ place in history.

The more serious backdrop has to be considered the civil unrest taking place in America today. We have seen protests break out around the United States in opposition to President Donald Trump in each of his first two weekends on the job. We have also seen protests themselves pop up at the Super Bowl LI headquarters in Houston (more on that here).

As anyone who has studied the history of civil unrest in this nation can attest to, those looking to make a point attempt to use the nation’s biggest platform to do so. With Super Bowl Sunday acting as an unofficial American holiday, it will be interesting to see if it is used as a podium to show opposition to the current president’s policies.

The focus will surely be on the two teams taking to the field in Houston on Sunday. With that said, there’s a lot of backstories here, some of which don’t involve football itself. It will be interesting to see how all that plays out.

10. Tom Brady’s place in history 

With a win on Sunday, Brady will join Charles Haley as the only NFL player to have hoisted the Lombardi Trophy five times. He will also surpass Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana for the most Super Bowl victories among quarterbacks in NFL history. For his part, Haley has recognized Brady’s potential accomplishment (more on that here).

The backstory here is real. Brady has received most of the press leading up to the Super Bowl. Whether it’s the record books or his personal relationship with President Trump, the future Hall of Fame quarterback has been the story. That’s no different from previous seasons. But it just goes to show us how valuable he is to the NFL brand.

In talking about Brady’s place in history, Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh had the ultimate praise to throw the quarterback’s way.

“He’s already got it. That’s the point. Tom Brady is the greatest football player to ever play,” Harbaugh said Wednesday. “If you can play that good, that consistently great year-after-year-after-year-after-year, game-after-game-after-game-after-game, nobody’s ever done that.”

While that’s certainly up for discussion here, Brady can cement his status as the most-successful NFL quarterback of the Super Bowl era on Sunday. This can’t be lost on the scrawny kid from Northern California who looked like nothing more than an afterthought during his days with the Wolverines. It most definitely won’t be lost on the fans, some of whom will be rooting for him to fail.

Brady has a unique story. He was a sixth-round pick in the NFL Draft. His hometown San Francisco 49ers didn’t select him in the draft. He’s been playing with a chip in his shoulder. A chip that has only grown larger since Roger Goodell handed a four-game suspension to the quarterback to start the season.

What type of sweet justice would it be for Brady if Goodell has to take to the podium on Sunday to hand the quarterback his fifth Lombardi Trophy? Where would that rank in the laundry list of accomplishments in Brady’s career?

More than that, another Super Bowl title would start to make us wonder if there will every be another Tom Brady. That was a question many posed when Joe Montana called it quits. Now with Brady having the opportunity to best his childhood hero with his fifth Super Bowl ring, all eyes are going to be on him come Sunday afternoon.