The New England Patriots converted a pair of two-point conversions in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons during Super Bowl LI (Bernd will be doing a film breakdown on these plays). What you might not know is that the Patriots entered the game with just three plays on their call sheet for two-point conversions- and they used them all.
MMQB’s Peter King spoke with Patriots QB Tom Brady in a must-read column where they discuss the key moments of the Patriots miraculous comeback. Brady reveals some information about the New England play calls.
First conversion: C David Andrews flubbed the direct snap to RB James White on the final play of practice leading up to the Super Bowl.
“He snapped it over, it was kind of at my head, so James couldn’t get his hand up there to get it,” Brady tells King. “It was the last play of the whole day and we ran the two-point conversion and we had a mistake, so who knows? I don’t think Josh lost confidence in that play, and certainly not losing confidence in David, because Dave has been a great player for us and he has done it a hundred times right.”
Andrews and White nailed the connection in the game and converted the attempt.
Second conversion: Brady threw a quick screen to WR Danny Amendola, who followed WR Chris Hogan and WR Julian Edelman over the goal line into the end zone. The Patriots had to be careful about avoiding the offensive pass interference penalty as Hogan and Edelman were unable to physically engage the defender more than one yard down the field. Hogan had been flagged on a very similar play earlier in the game for blocking down the field.
Third conversion: Wait, the Patriots didn’t convert a third two-point attempt, right? Well, apparently the Patriots used up their final play on the very last play of the game. The game-winning pitch from Brady to White was the final two-point attempt play on offensive coordinator Josh McDaniel’s call sheet.
And the Patriots found a way to convert on every single attempt. That’s some serious preparation, and well timed play calling.