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FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. - Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan could not stop the bleeding in the second half as New England quarterback Tom Brady led a furious charge. Ryan was stymied by a sack on a questionable pass-play call by offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan on a third-and-1 play. A holding call on Jake Matthews also pushed the Falcons out of field goal range with the game hanging in the balance.
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Some contended that the play-calling by Shanahan was too conservative in the second half. Shanahan, who was named the San Francisco 49ers head coach Monday, may have been distracted by his new job.
Ryan didn't think the play-calling was too conservative.
"I thought Kyle did a good job for us tonight and we had some opportunities to make plays," Ryan said. "We just missed a couple of things and just made a few mistakes and ultimately when you're playing a really good football team like New England, those mistakes ended costing us."
Ryan was stunned by the loss.
"There's nothing you can really say," Ryan said. "That's a tough loss. Obviously (we're) very disappointed, very close to getting done what we wanted to get done, but it's hard to find words tonight."
The Falcons made a lot of mistakes while blowing a 25-point lead to the Patriots. They also caught a bad break on New England's game-tying drive in the fourth quarter.
Cornerback Robert Alford tipped Brady's pass intended for Julian Edelman. The ball bounced high in the air and landed amid a tangle of arms belonging to Edelman and two Falcons defenders, plus one of Alford's legs.
Somehow, the ball teetered on Alford's foot and didn't touch the ground. Edelman corralled it for a 23-yard catch to the Falcons' 41-yard line. The Patriots went on to score a TD and two-point conversion to force overtime and won it in the extra period.
"I couldn't believe that he caught it," Alford said. "It was a nice bat by me. I hit the ground I was trying everything in my will to get back up and at least make a play on it. I thought that (Ricardo Allen) or one of my (other) brothers would get it. They were all battling for it but Edelman came down with it."
Despite their historic collapse, the Falcons believe they are positioned to compete for more NFL titles in the future.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank believes the team is ready to fulfill his goal of being able to sustain winning at the highest levels in the NFL.
"It's not ending of a journey for us," Blank said. "You have to raise the bar. That's what you're always trying to do in the world of business and it's the same in the world of sports as well."
The team has the key ingredient in quarterback Matt Ryan (who was named the league's most valuable player), several skilled players, including All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones, to go with a young defense that is expected to improve drastically with more seasoning.
--Falcons left tackle Jake Matthews, playing in his hometown in front of Hall of Fame father Bruce Matthews and a host of family members, struggled in Super Bowl LI.
Most of Matthews' problems were in pass protection, and he had a key holding penalty in the fourth quarter to push the Falcons out of field goal range when they were trying to stop New England's furious rally.
"Obviously, we thought we could come with an answer and we didn't," Matthews said. "Bottom line is we didn't get it done."
Matthews was clearly not pleased with his play.
"Yeah, I have a lot of people in my family who play, so I've seen them win, when them lose," Matthews said. "There isn't much to say. We just didn't get it done. That's it."
The Falcons started the game by running effectively to the outside, but couldn't run inside.
Once New England ramped up their pass rush, the Falcons offense was stymied.
"Wish we could have finished," Matthews said. "That's what it is."
