Top 100 momentsNo. 73
28-3
Atlanta lead New England by 25 in the third quarter. Tom Brady’s Patriots win in overtime. The biggest Super Bowl collapse is now a score people just say.
Super Bowl LI, Houston. The Falcons lead 28-3. The Patriots have been here before, in other deficits, but not this one, not on this stage. Brady finds the middle of the field. Atlanta’s clock management becomes a case study. James White scores in overtime. 34-28.
28-3 enters the language. It is a punchline, a warning, a graphic. The Patriots’ dynasty gets its most ridiculous exhibit. The Falcons get a number they cannot retire.
Super Bowls had been blowouts and tight fourth quarters. This is a third-quarter funeral that had to be undone in public, with the world watching, and no one allowed to change the channel.