Before I start this, I want to make something very clear here — I consider myself an Atlanta Falcons fan. I never grew up with an NFL team, and the fact that I’ve been living in Atlanta for two years caused me to have no choice but to root for them. That being said, I take no pleasure in making Falcons fan relive the Super Bowl collapse against the New England Patriots.
10 ways Georgia’s title game loss was eerily similar to Atlanta’s Super Bowl collapse
I’m so sorry, but I have to do this.
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But folks, there are so many ways that Georgia’s collapse in the National Championship against Alabama is similar to the Falcons’ Super Bowl meltdown. In case you missed it, Georgia lost in overtime to the Crimson Tide, 26-23, Monday night.
1. For starters, this game was played on the Falcons’ home field, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Athens is just slightly over an hour drive from Atlanta. Plenty of fans cheer for both teams.
2. The two Georgia teams share virtually the same color scheme of red, black, and white.
Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon and Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
Sure, the Falcons have a different color helmet, but you get the gist. The original Falcons uniforms were actually designed as tributes to both Georgia and Georgia Tech. The team eventually removed the gold stripe that referenced the Jackets.
Now let’s look at the games themselves (Falcons fans, maybe you should just stop reading).
3. Georgia had a 20-7 lead in the third quarter of the game.
Wait, a team from the state of Georgia actually blew a big lead? Sounds just too familiar ...
The Falcons unforgettably gave up 31 unanswered points last February to lose, 34-28. Like that same Georgia team, the Dawgs gave up 20 points to Bama in the second half, including Tua Tagovailoa’s 41-yard game winning touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith.
4. Oh yeah, and both teams lost in overtime.
OK, this is getting kind of freaky right? The way college and NFL overtimes are set up are a little different, given that the NFL’s is first score wins, and college gives both teams chances to score (so UGA scoring in overtime and still losing is one painful detail the Falcons didn’t have to experience), but they’re overtime losses nonetheless.
5. They both lost on a touchdown scored on second down in overtime.
There was the aforementioned Tagovailoa score, and the two-yard touchdown run from Pats running back James White.
Both losing teams had promising plays right before those TDs, too. Georgia sacked Bama for a huge loss, while Atlanta’s Vic Beasley nearly picked off a Tom Brady pass in the end zone.
6. Fans of both losing teams had major issues with the officiating.
Among complaints by Atlantans was one on whether White was down before he scored:
And Georgia fans point out refs hurt the Dawgs in four pretty clear ways.
7. Both teams abandoned the run at some point, which was more costly for one than the other.
The Dawgs strayed away from their successful ground game with Sony Michel and Nick Chubb early in the game, which even prompted former Bama OC Lane Kiffin to tell them to run the dang ball.
Running the dang ball late in last year’s Super Bowl was one of the main reasons the Falcons couldn’t put together a drive late to put the game away:
The Falcons might have had a better shot at preserving the healthy lead they maintained for much of Super Bowl LI if they’d just run the ball. The one thing the Falcons couldn’t afford to do with a 28-20 lead and 3:56 remaining in regulation was to let Matt Ryan take a critical sack, pushing the team out of field goal range. But that’s exactly what happened, and the result was a crushing and historic loss.
Situational football is not always sexy or exciting, but it wins games. Situational football would dictate that, holding a 28-12 lead with just under 10 minutes left to play, you run the dang ball.
Moving the ball on the ground, or even trying to, takes precious time off the clock. In this particular situation, it would have kept Tom Brady off the field, limiting his ability to do what Tom Brady does to devastate his opponents.
8. Both sides of the ball for Alabama are controlled by Bill Belichick proteges.
Nick Saban, a former Belichick assistant, is Alabama’s head coach and helps oversee the defense. Brian Daboll was hired as Alabama’s new OC after Steve Sarkisian took the Atlanta Falcons OC job (another connection) after last year’s national championship game. So yep, Daboll was on New England’s sidelines during the comeback last year.
9. President Trump left both games early.
He was in attendance on Monday night for the game, and he was on the field for the national anthem before kickoff. He left at halftime though, when Georgia was up, 13-0.
Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
You’re probably thinking: What does this have to do with last year’s Super Bowl? Well, Trump left his Super Bowl party at halftime.
10. The dynasty head coach won his fifth title.
Monday’s championship gave Alabama its fifth national championship since Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa in 2007, and he tied Bear Bryant’s AP titles record with the victory.
Photo by Todd Kirkland/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Pats’ win gave New England its fifth Super Bowl in franchise history, all of which have been won by Belichick.
As I stated before: I’m so sorry to make you relive this, Falcons fans, and I’m sure there are both UGA and Falcons fans reading this who are equally tortured. Life goes on for both teams, but I just couldn’t help but point out the irony.
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