Here's everything you need to know about Super Bowl LI
If the Patriots can knock off the Atlanta Falcons in
Super Bowl LI, it will set the stage for what could go down as the most awkward trophy ceremony of all-time as Goodell will have to either hand the Lombardi Trophy to Tom Brady , Patriots owner Robert Kraft or coach Bill Belichick.
The trophy usually goes to the owner, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see Kraft to defer to Brady, especially since Brady was forced to miss the first four games of the 2016 season thanks to Goodell's punishment for Deflategate.
Taking home the Lombardi Trophy won't be easy though. If the Belichick and the Patriots want to take home their fifth trophy, their going to have to knock off the high-flying Falcons.
For the past six weeks, the Falcons have been blowing by everyone: Atlanta has scored at least 33 points in each of its past six games, which includes four regular season games and two playoff games.
Of course, the Super Bowl is different. Many teams have struggled because the moment gets too big, which is something the Falcons will need to avoid. The game against the Patriots will mark Atlanta's first appearance in the Super Bowl since a 34-19 loss to the Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII back in January 1999.
The game will also mark a chance at revenge for Falcons coach Dan Quinn. Before taking the job in Atlanta, Quinn's was with the Seahawks. In his final game with Seattle, Quinn was the defensive coordinator in Super Bowl XLIX, which coincidentally just happened to end with Quinn's team losing to the Patriots when the Seahawks decided not to give the ball to Marshawn Lynch at the one-yard line.
On the Patriots' sideline, Belichick will be coaching in his NFL-record seventh Super Bowl. Belichick had held with the record of six with Don Shula, but now holds it by himself.
Brady has never loss to the Falcons, and Matt Ryan has never beaten the Patriots, but that could all change on Super Bowl Sunday.
Here's a look at the Super Bowl schedule, along with a brief summary on each playoff game that got us to this point.
Super Bowl LI
Monday, Jan. 30
Opening Night, 8 p.m. ET (NFL Network): For the second straight year, Super Bowl festivities will kickoff with Media Day being moved to prime time again. If Brady's going to get questions about Deflategate, it will come here. Pretty much every journalist who applies will get credentialed, which means we could see some wild questions being asked to Patriots and Falcons players.
Sunday Feb. 5
New England vs. Atlanta at NRG Stadium in Houston, 6:30 p.m. ET (Fox): The final game of the NFL season should provide us with some fireworks as we'll be getting the NFC's high-scoring team in Atlanta (33.8 points per game), going up against the AFC's highest-scoring team in New England (27.6). This will be Patriots' ninth Super Bowl appearance, which will break that all-time record they had previously held with the Cowboys, Broncos and Steelers. As for the Falcons, they're slightly newer to this whole Super Bowl thing. The game against New England will mark just the second time in franchise history that the Falcons' have reached the Super Bowl (lost in 1998).
