A decade later, the heartache surrounding the 2016 Atlanta Falcons has yet to subside. In all honesty, it never will. Up 28-3 late in the third quarter, the Falcons probably win Super Bowl LI in most other worlds, but unfortunately, we live in the universe where the Pats' improbable comeback happened.
The phrase "28-3" has triggered some mild PTSD for Falcons fans, and it probably always will. Whether you blame the collapse on Kyle Shanahan or not doesn't matter. This team deserved a ring, and the fact they were unable to hold on remains one of the biggest travesties in NFL history.
The offense with MVP Matty Ice, prime DeVonta Freeman, and Julio Jones was the NFL's most dangerous. They dropped 44 on the Green Bay Packers in the NFL championship, and the unit was a buzzsaw until they had Mr. Clutch Tom Brady and the New England Patriots on the other sideline.
The 2016 Falcons are one of the best teams to never win a Super Bowl
While ranking the best teams of the last 20 years to never win a Super Bowl, Pro Football Focus' Bradley Locker placed the 2016 Falcons fourth, only with the 2007 Patriots, 2015 Panthers, and 2023 49ers ahead of them, and even that feels disrespectful given how close this team came to a ring.
Locker didn't have a bad thing to say about the offense. He noted that their 95.6 offensive PFF grade was elite, as was their 52,9% scoring drive rate and their 0.233 EPA per play. He ranked them so low because of their defense, which he blamed more than the offense for the fourth-quarter collapse.
"Atlanta’s defense was more problematic, slotting 15th in grade with zero performers reaching an 82.0 mark," Locker wrote. "That unit proved to be part of an infamous 28-3 demise in Super Bowl 51 against the Patriots. While these Falcons are etched on the wrong side of history, their broader campaign was incredible nevertheless.
The 2016 Falcons had an elite offense, but their defense was quite average. Deion Jones and Keanu Neal were great, as was Vic Beasley, but Beasley was a one-year wonder. And since Desmond Trufant missed most of the year due to injury, Robert Alford and Brian Poole were the main starting corners.
Alford had a pick-six in this game, but he was also the main defender in coverage on Julian Edelman's miracle catch (which overshadowed Julio's own one). And as far as the offense goes, if only they ran the football to chew some clock, there's a chance we're talking about an entirely different outcome.
The San Antonio Spurs' historic collapse in Game 4 of the NBA Finals has put the 2016 Falcons back in people's minds, but unless you're a Falcons fan, Atlanta's collapse made people forget just how elite this team was.
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