Legendary Bowl

'07 New England vs. '98 Atlanta



The big day is here. From the beginning of the season, every NFL team has put all their resources into seeing this day come to fruition. The best seasons for each franchise have competed for over 20 weeks, and only 2 teams have consistently caused trouble for their opponents for several weeks in a row now.

Both the '98 Atlanta Falcons and '07 New England Patriots clash in this first ever Legendary Bowl. The Falcons have destroyed their opposition all post-season, putting them in a favorable position for today's match after avoiding a showdown with the Packers on a Carolina upset. Their defense has made even the greatest of all time struggle to score. And in the '98 season, the Falcons had a huge win over Brady's team.

But nobody is ignorant of New England's accomplishments with Tom Brady. He has come through for his team when it counted, and fought hard to land on top of the AFC East (ahead of 2 other powerhouse teams). He's lead a top yardage gaining offense and a phenomenal passing game. He has one of the league's top receivers in Welker, and an unpredictable Randy Moss. Gostkowski is reliable with his foot and the Patriots D has upset even some of the better passing games like NYJ.

All those efforts are in vain without a win today, however. So let's get to the action and see which team wins.

After a few 3-and-outs, it's Atlanta that comes up with the first score on a Jamal Anderson run. New England would try to respond, but come up short. And the Falcons continued to find holes for Anderson to run through, picking up 2 more rushing TD's in the next 12 minutes of play. With Brady being unable to answer, things were looking grimm for the Patriots.

Of course, Brady is anything but a quitter, and after a good drive in the 2nd quarter, found himself in the red zone inside the 2-minute warning. He'd quickly find Moss open on an 11-yarder to put NE down by just 2 scores at halftime.

If New England was to have a chance at Atlanta, the 3rd quarter was the best time for them to make progress, as their defense held the Falcons to several 3-and-outs. But Brady continued to struggle against the Falcons defense, and only Atlanta put any points up on the scoreboard. with a FG by Andersen.

Up 24-7 at the 4th quarter, things were looking more grim for New England, but after a few 3-and-outs, it was clear the Patriot's chances were dwindling. Atlanta controlled the clock well most of the game, and Brady wouldn't find movement against Atlanta until late in the 4th quarter, hitting Stallworth with 4:37 left for his 2nd TD.

Down 24-14, time was of the essence for every NE decision, and their defense came through for them on Atlanta's next possession. Getting the ball back, Brady quickly went to work tearing apart the Falcons and putting another 7 on the board with a 17 yard pass to Watson.

With just 3 points separating the Falcons from the Patriots, nerves were high and 1:46 remained on the clock with most timeouts. It would be a long 2 minutes, too, after NE's onside kick attempt failed. But it was the crucial 1st down play by Atlanta that helped them empty the Patriots time-out bank and take a knee so they could take home the trophy. Final score 24-21.

 Jamal Anderson is the clear game MVP, with 3 TD's coming from his work on the ground. With 22 carries for 131 yards, a 6.0 average is phenomenal. New England, on the other hand, rushed for just 14 yards total, underscoring how much their ability to rush hurt their efforts to score early on.

Both QB's threw for over 300 yards, Brady completing just a few more passes than Chandler but both efforts at accuracy were remarked at over 65%.  But Brady's 3 passing TD's to none for Chandler is a reflection of just how deadly Brady can be, and why the final score was so close.

Both kickers attempted and made 3 FG's each, and on defense there were no turnovers and just 1 sack all game on New England's side.

 Thanks for being a part of my experiment this year, and in case you've ever wondered about the teams that weren't part of this year's efforts....well, there's always next year?!?!?

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