Who will win the Super Bowl? The Patriots

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Jon Hershey, Staff Writer

The Super Bowl takes place Sunday at 6:30 p.m. on Fox. The big game is located at NRG Stadium, the home of the Houston Texans.

The Atlanta Falcons, who went 11-5 this season, take on the New England Patriots, who went 14-2, for Super Bowl LI.

The Patriots have won 24 playoff games since 2001, as much as 24 teams in the NFL combined according to ESPN. The Atlanta Falcons in franchise history have only 21 appearances, and are 9-12 in those games, according to profootballreference.com.

The Falcons are led by quarterback Matt Ryan, who has thrown for 4,944 yards in the regular season on 534 passing attempts. Ryan has also thrown 38 touchdown passes, with only seven interceptions. In addition, six of Ryan’s touchdown passes have gone to wide receiver Julio Jones.

Jones, who started all 14 games he appeared in during the regular season, caught 83 passes for 1,409 yards.

As for the Patriots, their offense is chocked full of veteran talent. Tom Brady leads the pact, throwing for 3,554 passing yards, while scoring 28 touchdowns. His interception number is significantly lower than Ryan’s, as he only threw two interceptions in the regular season.

Brady started the season missing the first four games, due to his suspension by the NFL for his part in DeflateGate.

When Brady was gone, Julian Edelman provided the leadership on offense. Edelman caught three touchdown passes and recorded 1,106 receiving yards on 98 receptions. On the ground, LeGarrette Blount provided 18 touchdowns while rushing for 1,161 yards on 299 carries.

On defense, the Falcons are led by Deion Jones on defense, who made 108 tackles in the regular season. He was followed closely behind by Keanu Neal, who made 106 tackles. Vic Beasley leads the defense in sacks with 15.5 while Jones also leads interceptions, with three.

On defense for the Patriots, Logan Ryan led the team with 92 tackles, while also leading the team in interceptions with two.

Statistically speaking, the Patriots have done significantly better than the Falcons in playoffs and the players have more experience in playoffs- and Super Bowl- appearances than the Falcons.

My prediction? The Patriots will win Super Bowl LI with a score of at least two more touchdowns.

Despite the Falcons having one of the most explosive and highest scoring offense in the NFL while the Patriots are experts at overcoming prolific offenses and always seem to end up on top.