When people talk about Super Bowl 51, the biggest criticism is the lack of running plays called by the Falcons in the second half.
For many Atlanta Falcons fans, the wound from Super Bowl 51 has yet to fully heal. While the success of the team in 2016 initially looked to be a preview of things to come, it turned out to be fool’s gold.
When people talk about Super Bowl 51, their biggest criticism is the lack of running plays called by the Falcons in the second half. San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan (Atlanta’s offensive coordinator from 2015-2016) noted that the team in fact called more runs in the second half than in the first. However, he also expressed his desire to get the ball down field quickly due to watching Tom Brady move the ball with ease.
“But I will say, I sat there so long and watched Tom Brady pick us apart and go 34, 36, or whatever he did and I remember saying, ‘If I get this ball back, I’m not waiting, we gotta go’ and Julio [Jones] caught that huge play,” stated Shanahan.
The play in which Shanahan is referring to was right after the Falcons were stuffed on a second-and-10 run play, which forced Atlanta into a third-and-11 situation. Once Jones made his acrobatic catch on the sideline, the Falcons were once again forced to make a decision two plays later on second and 10.
With the Jones catch still fresh on his mind, coupled with his desire to put the game away after watching Brady move up and down the field, Shanahan opted to dial up a pass play to Jones on second and 10 instead of running the ball.
“So we threw it to Julio, he caught that, I ran it the next play, got it to second and 10 and I was like ‘I’m going right to Julio’ and I called a play to totally go to Julio,” said Shanahan.
“Right when we snapped the ball, coverage took it away, so it was the wrong call. I wish we didn’t take that sack, but no one was open and we ended up taking a sack. Right then, I was like, ‘Oh my god, why did I just try to end it?'”
The Falcons then needed to get back into field goal range after taking the sack, and did manage to do just that with a 12-yard catch-and-run by Mohamed Sanu. However, a holding call on left tackle Jake Matthews negated the gain.
If Shanahan could have one do-over for one play, it was this play in particular. Jones got the Falcons to the New England 22-yard line but a sack and a holding call took Atlanta back to the 45 and out of field goal range.
Catch the full interview between Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay and Peter Schrager, as shared by Schrager’s Twitter account below.
[lawrence-related id=74936,74815,74896]
[vertical-gallery id=74817]
