It would be impossible to duplicate the thrill of Super Bowl LI. A regular season rematch just doesn’t carry the same weight as a championship game won in miraculous comeback fashion. But all eyes will still be on the Falcons and Patriots this week on Sunday Night Football when they meet for the first time since that historic game.
How will Falcons vs. Patriots compare to other regular season Super Bowl rematches?
Either the Falcons will ease the pain of the loss, or Patriots will build on their Super Bowl LI success in Sunday’s rematch.
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
These regular season Super Bowl rematches aren’t as common as you’d think. The NFL has managed to luck into them the past two seasons, but since the merger, it’s only happened seven times in the season immediately following that Super Bowl. The defending Super Bowl champions are 5-2 in these rematches. This Falcons-Patriots matchup is the eighth one in NFL history.
If you ask anyone about the most memorable thing about Super Bowl LI, they’ll almost certainly bring up the fact that the Falcons blew a 28-3 lead. But that wasn’t the only reason this game stood out. The Patriots’ defense shut out Atlanta’s high-powered offensive attack for the entire second half. Julio Jones had that amazing catch, which was later overshadowed by Julian Edelman’s own amazing catch. It was also the first overtime game in Super Bowl history.
That loss is still on Falcons players’ minds as they head into Sunday’s rematch.
While this year’s Patriots and Falcons are still teams that should be in the postseason mix, they haven’t lived up to the standards they each set last season. But even a regular season win over the Patriots would help to get that bad taste from the Super Bowl loss out of Falcons’ players’ mouths. A loss, on the other hand, would bring back all kinds of unpleasant memories from February.
A handful of other teams have had the chance to either ease the pain of a Super Bowl loss or double down on their win in a rematch. We’ll see which side the Falcons and Patriots end up on this Sunday.
The Panthers came into this one having finished the regular season with a 15-1 record. Peyton Manning didn’t do much in his final NFL game, but he didn’t have to because the Broncos’ defense was relentless on the field. They totaled seven — SEVEN — sacks and forced four turnovers. Von Miller, who harassed Cam Newton with 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles, earned the MVP nod. The Broncos took an early lead and never looked back.
Rematch: Sept. 8, 2016
Broncos 21, Panthers 20
This game was the competitive Super Bowl we all wanted to see between these teams in February. It was a valiant effort from Cam Newton, who was sacked three times in the second half by that aggressive Broncos defense. Trevor Siemian got the start in Denver’s first game post Peyton Manning, but the end result was the same as the Super Bowl — a painful loss for the Panthers. It was a hell of a fun game to watch, though.
Super Bowl XLVIII: Feb. 2, 2014
Seahawks 43, Broncos 8
This one was over almost as soon as it began. The Seahawks jumped out to a 22-0 lead in the first half and continued to dominate. The Broncos were shut out entirely until the third quarter. Those eight points were the only ones scored by the Broncos all game.
Rematch: Sept. 21, 2014
Seahawks 26, Broncos 20 (OT)
The rematch started off just about the same way the Super Bowl did. The Seahawks cruised to a 17-3 lead until the Broncos began a furious fourth-quarter rally. Denver scored 17 in the fourth quarter alone, while the Seahawks managed just a field goal. The game went to overtime tied 20-20. But it was Seattle that punched it in during the extra period for the win.
Super Bowl XXXI: Jan. 26, 1997
Packers 35, Patriots 21
The Packers’ first Super Bowl win in almost 20 years came in part because of a 99-yard kickoff return touchdown by Desmond Howard. Reggie White set a Super Bowl record — one tied by the Falcons’ Grady Jarrett in Super Bowl LI — with three sacks, and the Packers picked off Drew Bledsoe four times. Luckily for the Patriots, the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era and their Super Bowl dynasty was just around the corner.
Rematch: Oct. 27, 1997
Packers 28, Patriots 10
The Packers were favored to win Super Bowl XXXII after the 1997 season, but they lost to the Broncos, 31-24. They did, however, get the best of the Patriots again in the regular season after beating them in Super Bowl XXXI. They won this one handily.
The poor Bills. This was the third of Buffalo’s four consecutive Super Bowl losses, and it was an absolute beatdown. It didn’t help that Bills quarterback Jim Kelly was injured in the second quarter. His replacement, Frank Reich, was a downgrade. The Cowboys had four interceptions and five forced fumbles, and those nine turnovers set a Super Bowl record. America’s Team turned those takeaways into 35 points.
Rematch: Sept. 12, 1993
Bills 13, Cowboys 10
What a difference a few months can make. Not only was this one a low-scoring game, especially compared to the Super Bowl outcome, but the Bills came out on top despite being on the road. The Bills went on to finish the season 12-4 and returned to the Super Bowl, where they were met with even more heartbreak. In yet another rematch with the Cowboys, the Bills took a 13-6 lead into the half. The Cowboys fought back to hand Buffalo its fourth consecutive crushing Super Bowl loss with a final score of 30-13.
Super Bowl XIII: Jan. 21, 1979
Steelers 35, Cowboys 31
Terry Bradshaw was named MVP after he set Super Bowl records with 318 passing yards and four touchdowns. He had 243 yards in the first half alone, but the Cowboys still kept it close. Still, Dallas couldn’t overcome its mistakes, penalties, and dropped passes, and the Steelers won an instant classic.
Rematch: Oct. 28, 1979
Steelers 14, Cowboys 3
The Steel Curtain came out on top of this defensive battle. Unfortunately, Roger Staubach suffered a head injury that knocked him out of the game. At the end of the season, he decided to step away from the game. The Steelers got back to the Super Bowl later that season, facing off against the Rams in Super Bowl XIV and winning 31-19.
The Raiders moved the ball with ease against the Vikings, putting up a total of 429 yards en route to a sizable margin of victory. They led 16-0 at the half, and though the Vikings were finally able to get on the board, Oakland locked up its first Super Bowl win. It was the Vikings’ fourth Super Bowl appearance — and their fourth loss.
Rematch: Dec. 11, 1977
Raiders 35, Vikings 13
The Vikings had to take on the Raiders without the benefit of quarterback Fran Tarkenton, who was sidelined with a broken leg. It showed in the final score as the Raiders routed Minnesota yet again.
Super Bowl IV: Jan. 11, 1970
Chiefs 23, Vikings 7
The Chiefs were helped along by a wet field at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. They limited the Vikings’ run game, which totaled 222 yards in the conference championship the previous week, to just 67 yards on the ground. Kansas City snagged three interceptions and forced two fumbles.
Rematch: Sept. 20, 1970
Vikings 27, Chiefs 10
It surely wasn’t as sweet as a Super Bowl win would have been, but Minnesota got its revenge in Week 1 of the regular season against the Chiefs. The Vikings finished the season with the league’s top defense for the second consecutive year, and it showed as they limited Kansas City to just 10 points and 218 total yards.
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