Two dominant performances are in the books and Super Bowl LI (or 51 for those of you not familiar with Roman numerals) is set.
The Atlanta Falcons are headed to the Super Bowl for the second time in their franchise’s history after beating the Green Bay Packers 44-21 to win the George Halas trophy.
Matt Ryan’s four touchdown passes and Julio Jones’ 180 receiving yards led the way in the last NFL game ever played at the Georgia Dome. Aaron Rodgers threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns, but couldn’t recover after falling behind 24-0 at halftime.
Meanwhile, the New England Patriots are coming out of the AFC for seventh time in the last 15 years after a 36-17 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Tom Brady threw for a career postseason high 384 yards and three touchdowns and led receiver Chris Hogan to a career-best game with 180 yards and two touchdowns. The Steelers were out of sync early and never got into a rhythm after running back Le’Veon Bell left the game with a groin injury.
The Patriots-Falcons Super Bowl – which will take place on Sunday, Feb. 5 at 5:30 on FOX at NRG Stadium in Houston – is a match-up of two of the NFL’s most proficient and efficient quarterbacks.
Ryan led the NFL with a 117.1 passer efficiency rating, edging runner-up Brady and his 112.2 rate. Ryan (83.3) and Brady (81.1) also ranked as the two best quarterbacks according to ESPN’s QBR metric.
No matter what metric you want to cite, Super Bowl LI will feature a top flight quarterback showdown.