Patriots win Super Bowl LI 34-28 in overtime

HOUSTON – The Latest on Super Bowl 51:

The New England Patriots scored a touchdown on the first possession of overtime and defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 after trailing by 25 points in the third quarter.

28-28: The New England Patriots have tied Super Bowl LI on a 1-yard run by James White followed by a 2-point conversion pass from Tom Brady to Danny Amendola. The score is 28-28 headed to overtime.

28-20: New England capitalized on a Matt Ryan fumble to draw within 28-20 in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. After Ryan’s fumble, Amendola scored on a 6-yard pass from Brady and White ran for a 2-point conversion.

6:15 p.m.: The Patriots reached the end zone for the first time when White scored on a 5-yard pass from Brady. Stephen Gostkowski missed the extra point, leaving the score at 28-9 in favor of the Atlanta Falcons. Gostkowski added a 33-yard field goal on the Patriots’ next possession for a 28-12 Falcons lead.

5:55 p.m.: Ryan has thrown a 6-yard touchdown pass to Tevin Coleman and the Atlanta Falcons have taken a 28-3 lead over the New England Patriots in the third quarter of Super Bowl 51.

Ryan hit Coleman in the flat, and the Falcons running back beat linebacker Rob Ninkovich to the pylon. The score capped an 85-yard drive in eight plays, fueled by a 35-yard pass to Taylor Gabriel.

Ryan, the NFL regular-season MVP, is 12 of 14 for 193 yards with two touchdowns.

5:05 p.m.: Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 41-yard field goal with 2 seconds left in the first half, and the New England Patriots finally are on the scoreboard.

The Atlanta Falcons, trying to win their first Super Bowl, lead 21-3 at halftime.

4:50 p.m.: Robert Alford’s 82-yard interception return for a touchdown has put the Atlanta Falcons up 21-0 over the New England Patriots with 2:21 left in the first half.

It appeared that the Patriots might finally get on the scoreboard, but Tom Brady was under pressure when he unloaded the third-down pass.

If Brady is going to become the first quarterback to win five Super Bowls, he and the Patriots will have to do something that has never been done.

According to Elias Sports, no team has won a Super Bowl after trailing by more than 10 points.

Three teams have overcome 10-point deficits to win the Super Bowl. The most recent was Brady and the Patriots two years ago against the Seattle Seahawks.

4:35 p.m.: Matt Ryan has thrown a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Austin Hooper and the Atlanta Falcons lead the New England Patriots 14-0 with 8:48 to go in the first half of Super Bowl 51.

Ryan, trying to become the first player to be the NFL’s MVP and win a Super Bowl in the same season since 1999, is 7-of-8 passing for 115 yards.

The latest drive, after a Patriots punt, started with Ryan hitting Taylor Gabriel for 24 yards and then throwing an 18-yard pass to Julio Jones, who made a nice tip-toe catch along the sideline.

4:05 p.m.: The Atlanta Falcons have taken a 7-0 lead in Super Bowl 51 on Devonta Freeman’s 5-yard touchdown run with 12:15 left in the second quarter.

The five-play, 71-yard drive was set up when Deion Jones forced a fumble by Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount, and the ball was recovered by Richard Alford.

Matt Ryan, the NFL MVP, then threw passes of 19 and 23 yards to Julio Jones, who didn’t catch a pass in the first quarter.

4:05 p.m.

While so many were expecting a shootout, a scoreless first quarter in the Super Bowl is nothing new for Tom Brady.

Brady, trying to become the first quarterback to win five Super Bowls, never led his team to a point in the first quarter of his previous six Super Bowls, including his four wins.

In the 2004 Super Bowl in the same building, when the Patriots beat Carolina 32-29, it was scoreless after the first quarter in Houston’s NRG Stadium.

Each team punted twice in the first quarter. The biggest highlight was Devonta Freeman’s 37-yard run for Atlanta. But the Falcons didn’t get another first down on that drive.

For the first time in 11 years, both teams punted on each of their first two offensive possessions in a Super Bowl.

3:50 p.m.

It was a great start for the Atlanta Falcons with Freeman’s 37-yard run on their first offensive snap of the game.

Freeman then ran for 3 yards and they didn’t get another first down on the opening drive before MVP Matt Ryan was sacked on third down by Trey Flowers.

So the teams exchanged punts on their first two drives. It was the first time Atlanta hadn’t scored on its opening possession in nine games.

3:35 p.m.

Former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, took part in the pregame coin toss – and New England Patriots have the ball first in Super Bowl 51.

The Atlanta Falcons won the toss, but deferred their selection to the second half.

The former first couple got a huge ovation, including applause from coaches and players from both teams, when they came onto the field slowly with Barbara in a golf cart and the 92-year-old former president being pushed in a wheelchair next to her.

The Bushes often attend games of the Houston Texans, the host stadium for its second Super Bowl.

Bush, the nation’s 41st president, was recently released from Houston Methodist Hospital, where he received treatment for pneumonia for more than two weeks.

Vice President Mike Pence was also attending the game. He was seen applauding as well.

The teams were on the wrong sides when they lined up and had to be told to switch sides.