Super Bowl: Falcons, Patriots battle for NFL championship

One of the most anticipated sporting events of the year kicked off in Houston, Texas at the NRG Stadium on Sunday evening as the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots battled for the National Football League championshipin the Super Bowl.

Fans descend on Houston

Over 71,000 fans packed into NRG Stadium, home of the Houston Texans,Sunday afternoon ahead of the 6:30 p.m. ET kickoff.

Falcons, Patriots takefield

Tom Brady tookthe field for the Super Bowl, and fired up New England fans with a couple of fist pumps as he finished a run toward the end zone covered with the Patriots logo.

Brady was trying to become the first quarterback to win five Super Bowls. It would give him one more than Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana.

The Patriots were going for their fifth title as well. From the sound of things during the pregame, they hadplenty of support at Houston's NRG Stadium.

Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan appeared focused as he threw the ball around.

Atlanta wins coin toss

The Falcons' kicker Matt Bosher got the game under way, after Atlanta won the coin toss but opted to defer their selection until the second half.

Both teams, however, exchanged punts on their first two drives.

For the first time in nine games, Atlanta was not able to score on its opening possession. Both Brady and Ryan were sacked early as both teams' defences held firm.

According to reports, tickets prices for Super Bowl LIwere ranging from $2,700 US to $5,000 apiece on the online resale market.

Scoreless 1st quarter

While many were expecting a shootout, the first quarter of Super Bowl LI ended without a point.

The biggest highlight was Devonta Freeman's 37-yard run for Atlanta. But the Falcons didn't get another first down on that possession.

Brady also struggled to get going early.But in all four of his previous wins, the Super Bowl veteran also failed to score in the first.

Atlanta breaks deadlock

After forcing a turnover, the Atlanta Falcons took a 7-0 lead on Freeman's five-yard touchdown run with 12:15 left in the second quarter.

The five-play, 71-yard drive was set up by Deion Jones who forced a fumble by Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount that was recovered by Robert Alford.

Ryan, the NFL MVP, then connected twice with Julio Jones, to get the Falcons in scoring position.

Falcons continueto take flight

Atlanta took a 14-0 lead after Ryan threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Austin Hooper with 8:48 to go in the first half.

With the second quarter winding down, the Falcons continued to make the Patriots pay for their mistakes. With 2:21 left, Brady, under pressure, threwa potentially game ending interception that resulted in Alford's82-yard touchdown run.

The Patriots, however, did manage to get on the board before the quarter winded down, on StephenGostkowski's41-yard field goal.

Nevertheless, if Brady is going to become the first quarterback to win five Super Bowls, he and the Patriots will have to do something that has never been doneovercomea 21-3 deficit.

Gaga soars

While the Patriots struggled on the field, Lady Gaga soared, kicking off halftime festivities at NRG Stadium before droppingdown on wires to thestage at centre field. Gaga's high energy performance was filled with explosive dance moves as well as a football related mic drop.

Patriotsdeflated

The Falconsstarted the third quarter right where they left off in the Patriot's end zone.

Matt Ryan continued to have the hot hand, after connecting with tight end Tevin Coleman, who then ran for a 19-yard touchdown to give the Falcons a 28-3 lead.

They may have beendown but New England weren't out...yet. After scrambling to secure a first down, Brady managed to find running back James White for the Patriots' first touch down. Gostkowski, however, was unable to convert the extra-point, after hitting therightupright to leave the score at 28-9 for the Falcons.

Comeback?

The New England Patriotsgota little closer, but were still a long way from pulling off the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.

First, Gostkowski kicked a 33-yard field goal with 9:44 left to narrow the Falcons' lead to28-12. And then, Dont'a Hightowerforced a Ryan fumble, which Brady was able to convert into a touchdown after asix-yard scoring pass to Danny Amendola.

With 5:56 to play, White completedthe two-point conversionto further narrow the Falcons' lead to 28-20.

Brady's drive for 5still alive

The New England Patriots tied Super Bowl LI, with 25 unanswered points.

JulianEdelman'scatch was the highlight of New England's 91-yard drive that tied the game near the end of regulation. Edelman somehow got his red-gloved hands ona Brady pass that bounced off Atlanta cornerback Alford's hands, hit off his knee, his shin and then almost hit the turf.

The ridiculous then became reality when Brady connected with White for a touchdown before Edelmanmade the two-point conversion.

Up next, for the first time, overtime in the Super Bowl.

Patriots win Super Bowl LI

In a historic comeback, the Patriotswiped out a 28-3 deficit to win Super Bowl LI 34-28 over the Atlanta Falcons in overtime on Sunday, in Houston, Texas.

The Patriots, who seemed to have nothing go their way all night, came alive with a 19-point fourth quarter to force overtime where they put the finishing touches on their record comeback when White scored on a two-yard run.

With the win, Brady becomes the first quarterback to win five Super Bowl championships.