HOUSTON -- They were a runaway adding machine in overdrive. For 30 minutes, the Atlanta Falcons threatened to turn Super Bowl 51 into their private fiesta and Tom Brady into their private pinata.
They sacked the unsackable Brady and hit him more than a dozen times. They ran the ball as though they were busting through a paper-mache defense. They sent untouched receivers all over the field, and quarterback Matt Ryan always had the ball waiting for them.
By the time Lady Gaga fell from the sky to start the halftime show, the Falcons were up, 21-3.