Patriots vs. Falcons: Historic Head-to-Head Record and Super Bowl 51 Pick

The New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons have never formed a rivalry or even played in a particularly classic or memorable game.

However, there's a first time for everything, and here's hoping the Pats and Falcons play in a great Super Bowl this coming Sunday after an NFL postseason littered with blowouts and boring contests.

Here's a look at the teams' head-to-head record over the years, some historical series notes, a look at the last time these two teams played and a Super Bowl pick.

Historic Head-to-Head Record and Series Notes

The Pats and Falcons have played each other 13 times, with New England winning seven contests (and each of the last four), per Pro Football Reference.

Head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady led the Pats to victory in each of those four, dating back to 2001. That duo hasn't lost to Atlanta once yet.

Prior to the Pats' four-game winning streak in the series, Atlanta won four straight from 1989 to 1998.

The series has seen some historically terrible teams (e.g. the 1992 Patriots, which went 2-14 and barely eclipsed the 200-point mark for the season) and some past Super Bowl participants (the 1998 Dirty Birds and 2001 Pats).

The best game may have been in 2005, when the Pats blew a 15-point fourth-quarter lead but held on to win 31-28 in the Georgia Dome after a last-minute Adam Vinatieri field goal.

Last Time Around

Brady led the Pats with 316 passing yards and two touchdowns in a 30-23 Pats win in 2013. New England led 30-13 in the fourth quarter and held on for the victory in the Georgia Dome.

We can't glean too much from the last time these two teams played, unfortunately. First and foremost, Falcons head coach Dan Quinn was the Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator that season. Secondly, many players on the field that day are no longer in the league.

Only four offensive or defensive starters for the Falcons are still with the team (quarterback Matt Ryan, wide receiver Julio Jones, defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux and cornerback Desmond Trufant).

That number is five for the New England Patriots (Brady, wide receiver Julian Edelman, defensive end Rob Ninkovich, linebacker Dont'a Hightower and safety Devin McCourty), although LeGarrette Blount played in that game off the bench.

Super Bowl Pick

Expect New England to control the clock with the run game early and often in an effort to keep the hot Atlanta Falcons offense on the sidelines.

Belichick is no stranger to seeing a ball-control strategy work firsthand in the Super Bowl. He was the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXV when they possessed the football for over 40 minutes, keeping the fantastic Buffalo Bills offense off the field. The Giants ended up winning 20-19.

Behind Blount, the Pats can pull that off against a porous Falcons run defense. If Blount gashes them up the middle all game, then that will lead to more opportunities for Brady to find his receivers one-on-one down the field in matchups they can win.

That being said, Atlanta scored 540 points in the regular season and is certainly no pushover, so they'll keep this game close. In particular, the running back duo of Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman should cause problems catching passes out of the backfield. But take the Pats to win 31-24.