HOUSTON _ Nearly nine years ago to the day, New York Giants receiver David Tyree ripped the New England Patriots' hearts out with what became known as "The Helmet Catch."
On Sunday, in Super Bowl LI, the Patriots' Julian Edelman delivered a sweet, soul-clearing, memory-sweeping salve to millions of Patriots' fans with an absurd catch of his own, one that contributed greatly to a 34-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in front of a capacity crowd of 70,807 at NRG Stadium.
The win will go down as the greatest comeback, points-wise, in Super Bowl history. The Patriots _ who trailed the Falcons by as many as 25 during the course of the game and by 19 entering the fourth quarter _ clinched their fifth Super Bowl with flair, too.
An early fourth-quarter field goal cut the deficit to 16, and a fumble by quarterback Matt Ryan _ who had been lighting it up to that point _ led to a New England touchdown and two-point conversion that trimmed the Falcons' lead to eight with 6 minutes left.
After another fruitless Falcons drive, Edelman cemented the momentum by hauling in a legendary catch, one that made the blue-and-silver clad Patriots' fans in the building explode.
On first and 10 from the Patriots' 36, quarterback Tom Brady uncorked a deep throw over the middle that was deflected by Atlanta cornerback Robert Alford, who mocked the Patriots two quarters earlier by strutting into the end zone at the tail end of Brady's first-ever Super Bowl pick-six.
But Brady and Edelman would have the last laugh. As the ball fell toward the ground, Edelman _ who was lying on a mass of bodies with his hands outstretched _ somehow saved it from hitting the ground, and hauled it in for a 23-yard gain that made Patriots fans roar with approval once it was shown on the replay board.
It was a spectacular catch, one in the same class as Tyree's, which helped end the Patriots' quest for a perfect season in 2008.
But on this night, the Patriots _ now energized with new life _ would reclaim that lost Super Bowl title.
New England finished off the drive, courtesy of a 1-yard run from running back James White, and Brady _ who completed 43 of 62 passes for 466 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the contest and was voted Super Bowl MVP _ converted the two-point conversion with a short throw to Danny Amendola that tied the score at 28-28 with 38 seconds left.
That sent the game into overtime, where the Patriots _ buoyed by the chance to complete a comeback for the ages _ won the toss and drove down the field on the deflated Falcons, who yielded the game-ending score on a 2-yard run by White that clinched the Patriots' second Super Bowl title in three years.
Considering no team in Super Bowl history had come back from a deficit greater than 10, the Patriots produced a historic win, one that started off as dreadful for New England as the ending was glorious.
The game was still scoreless after the first quarter, and it took a fumble in Falcons territory by New England running back LeGarrette Blount to ramp up the action.
Blount's turnover, one of two by the Patriots, wiped out a scoring chance and set up Atlanta's next score. Running back Devonta Freeman, after two consecutive chunk runs, reached paydirt on a 5-yard touchdown scamper.
And after a New England three-and-out _ the Patriots' fourth-ranked offense was extremely unbalanced, managing only 93 rushing yards compared to 466 passing yards on the day _ the Falcons scored again, this time courtesy of Ryan.
Ryan completed three of four passes and accounted for 61 of the Falcons' 62 yards on their ensuing scoring drive, which culminated in a 19-yard touchdown strike to tight end Austin Hooper.
It was at this point that the Patriots, who suddenly found themselves trailing 14-0 with 8 minutes, 48 seconds left in the second quarter, finally woke up.
With the help of three Atlanta defensive holding penalties, New England moved all the way to the Falcons' 23 ... only to see all of those gains wiped out when Alford stepped in front of a Brady pass and strutted into the end zone for a pick-six that put Atlanta ahead by 21.
Just like that, the Patriots found themselves in deep, deep trouble, as no team had ever come back from more than a 10-point deficit in the previous 50 Super Bowls, let alone 21.
If any team could do it, however, New England appeared to be a good candidate. They had the quarterback (Brady) and coach (Bill Belichick) to do it, and there was plenty of time _ over 32 game minutes _ to mount a comeback against the NFL's 25th-ranked regular-season run defense.
But while the Patriots finally got on the board before halftime on a 41-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski, the Falcons refused to let the 30-minute halftime rob them of the momentum.
Both teams opened the third quarter with punts, but the Falcons pushed their lead even further on their second drive of the half, courtesy of a eight-play, 85-yard scoring march that was capped by a 6-yard touchdown throw from Ryan _ who finished the game 17 of 23 for 284 yards and two touchdowns _ to running back Tevin Coleman.
The Falcons led by 25 at that point, meaning the Patriots would not only need a historic Super Bowl comeback to win, they'd also need a historic Brady comeback, since his biggest to date was a 24-point deficit he cleared against Denver in 2013.
And while the Patriots finally scored a touchdown on their next drive on a 5-yard pass from Brady to White, it still looked like it simply was not meant to be, as they couldn't even convert the ensuing extra point when Gostkowski knocked it off the right upright.
But like any true champion, the Patriots would not go down quietly. After a field goal to start the fourth quarter, Ryan's fumble set up the Patriots' next touchdown, a 6-yard Brady touchdown throw to Danny Amendola. The two-point conversion sliced the Falcons' lead to 28-20 with 5 minutes, 56 seconds left.
All of a sudden, the game was in striking distance, and the Falcons' offense _ which caused the mess in the first place _ failed to fix it.
A holding call on Jake Matthews essentially eliminated the possibility of a score-padding field goal, and Brady got the ball back, down eight points with 3 minutes and 30 seconds left.
It was exactly the type of situation you dream of as a kid, one you don't want to give to (now) five-time Super Bowl champions like Brady and Belichick.
Brady promptly marched his team 91 yards down the field, thanks in large part to Edelman's catch, and the Patriots tied the score and finished the job in overtime, as a dynasty for the ages completed fittingly completed a comeback for the ages ... and healed some old wounds, to boot.
