Five Super Bowl Bold Predictions
The Super Bowl is is only a mere three days away. To get past these long few days, here are some bold predictions for Super Bowl 51.
Chris Hogan held under 35 receiving yards
Chris Hogan has definitely been a difference maker for the Patriots during the playoffs. Against the Pittsburgh Steelers Hogan caught the ball nine times for 180 yards and two touchdowns. When the Patriots played against the Houston Texans he had four receptions for 95 yards. Hogan has had big games of over 100 yards in the regular season, but he also played in many games that he was non existent. Part of the reason Hogan won’t have many yards may be because of Bill Belichick’s famous mind games. Given how good of a game Hogan had against the Steelers, the Falcons will try and limit him as much as possible. Belichick should know this and his gameplan could be focused around other players to throw the Falcons off.
Matt Ryan finishes with over 125.00 passer rating
Matt Ryan is the reason the Falcons have reached the Super Bowl. There are plenty of other great parts of Atlanta’s team, but Ryan indispensable. Without him, the Falcons are not playing on Sunday. Ryan will likely win the NFL MVP this season as he should. He threw for 4944 yards, 38 touchdowns, only seven interceptions to have a 117.1 passer rating. In the postseason Ryan has been even better. He has 730 yards, seven touchdowns, and zero interceptions for a 132.6 passer rating. The Patriots’ defense will be his toughest test yet. New England gave up the least amount of points per game at 15.6. However, Ryan has faced strong defenses too. Against the Seahawks, a team who only gave up 18.3 points per game, the Falcons scored 36 points. This will be Ryan’s game to shine.
Dion Lewis has over 100 all purpose yards
Dion Lewis has been a very underrated part of the Patriots team the past two seasons. He won’t always light up the stat sheet, but he does many things very well. He runs the ball rell, catches the ball well, and is good at pass protection. In fact, the Patriots have not lost a game in which Lewis has played in. In the past two season, New England is 16-0 when he plays. Lewis only has 83 total yards this postseason, but there’s a great chance Belichicks’ game plan involves Lewis heavily.
Tom Brady turns the ball over twice
Tom Brady was incredible this season in limiting turnovers. In 12 games started in the regular season, Brady only threw two interceptions and only fumbled the ball four times. Despite how well Brady played in the regular season, the postseason has shown he can make mistakes. Against the Texans Brady threw two interceptions. Atlanta has done well the season forcing turnovers. The Falcons caused opposing defenses to threw 12 interceptions and fumble the ball 10 times for 22 total turnovers. Their success will continue.
The Falcons win the Super Bowl
The Patriots are currently a three point favorite going into the Super Bowl, but will have to wait for their fifth Lombardi trophy. New England’s defense is superior to Atlanta’s, but the Falcons offense is too dynamic for the Patriots to limit Ryan and the offense enough.
Prediction: Falcons 31-28
