Falcons blew 98 percent odds of winning Super Bowl LI
There is plenty of evidence to suggest the New England Patriots pulled off the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history Sunday night, and that the Atlanta Falcons are owners of the Super Bowl era's greatest choke job.
The Falcons held what appeared to be an insurmountable lead when they owned a 28-3 advantage in Super Bowl LI with 8:30 left in the third quarter.
At that point, Atlanta owned a win probability of 96.4 percent, according to ESPN Stats and Info.
Falcons current win probability --96.4%
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 6, 2017
Keep in mind they did lose a game to Chargers this season in which they had a win prob of 95.4% pic.twitter.com/CVSdFgYZOF
Even after the Patriots managed to score a touchdown on their next possession, the drive soaked up 6:25 in game time and ended with a missed extra point. The Falcons' odds of winning actually increased.
Falcons win probability after Patriots TD- 98.9% pic.twitter.com/l8RKJbFRAj
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 6, 2017
The rest is history, however, and not the good kind for the Falcons. The Patriots scored 25 unanswered points to pull off the miraculous 34-28 come-from-behind victory in overtime.
Falcons led for 41 minutes, 18 seconds of game time. Patriots didn't lead until they won the game.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 6, 2017
A look at the dramatic turn in win probability in the Patriots' Super Bowl win pic.twitter.com/1SYGxRBuEK
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 6, 2017