Super Bowl 51: Predictions for Patriots vs. Falcons Stats, Final Score and MVP

Football fans have waited all year for this. It's taken roughly five months—17 weeks of regular-season action and three rounds of playoff games—but the pinnacle of the 2016 NFL season has finally arrived. Only the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots are left with the chance to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, and these two teams will do battle on Sunday in a little contest known as Super Bowl LI.

Not only is Sunday's game the most important one of the year, but it could also end up being one of the best matchups we've seen this season. Two quality quarterbacks are involved, along with the league's top scoring offense (Atlanta, 33.8 points per game in the regular season) and the NFL's top scoring defense (New England, 15.6 points per game allowed).

Something is going to have to give when these two teams face off for the ultimate in pro football bragging rights.

Today, we're going to dive into the upcoming championship matchup, along with the latest odds—courtesy of OddsShark. We'll also make our predictions for the big game and some of the top players involved.

All of our predictions are based on factors like past performances, projected role, individual matchups and projected game plans.

Super Bowl LI

What: New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons

Where: NRG Stadium, Houston

When: Sunday, Feb. 5

Time: 6:30 p.m. ET

TV: Fox

Live Stream: Fox Sports Go

Line: New England (-3)

Over/Under: 59.5

Prediction: New England 31-27 over Atlanta

Projected Stats

Position	Player	Proj. Stats
QB	Tom Brady, NE	310 YDS, 3 TDS, INT
QB	Matt Ryan, ATL	289 YDS, 2 TDS, 2 INT
RB	LeGarrette Blount, NE	88 YDS, TD
RB	Devonta Freeman, ATL	59 YDS, 4 REC, 34 REC YDS, TD
RB	Tevin Coleman, ATL	38 YDS, 4 REC, 30 YDS
RB	Dion Lewis, NE	25 YDS, 5 REC, 55 YDS, TD
WR	Julio Jones, ATL	7 REC, 96 YDS, TD
WR	Julian Edelman, NE	7 REC, 77 YDS, TD
WR	Mohamed Sanu, ATL	6 REC, 76 YDS
WR	Chris Hogan, NE	4 REC, 60 YDS
WR	Taylor Gabriel, ATL	4 REC, 50 YDS, TD
TE	Martellus Bennett, NE	5 REC, 55 YDS, TD
TE	Jacob Tamme, ATL	3 REC, 33 YDS
TE	Austin Hooper, ATL	2 REC, 12 YDS
DEF	Patriots	4 Sacks, 2 INT, 2 FF
DEF	Falcons	3 Sacks, INT, FF

We would expect a fair amount of passing in this game, given the fact that two of the most prolific passers of the 2016 season are playing in it.

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan had an MVP-caliber campaign this year, passing for 4,944 yards with 38 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. Pro Football Focus rated him second overall among all quarterbacks for the season.

It obviously helped that Ryan had pass-catchers like Julio Jones, Taylor Gabriel and Mohamed Sanu at his disposal. It also helped that both of Atlanta's top running backs, Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, are adept receivers. These players are also obviously going to have an impact on Sunday's game.

New England was forced to navigate the first month of the season without its star quarterback thanks to sanctions stemming from a certain deflated-football incident. However, Tom Brady was nearly magical in his three months of regular-season action.

Brady finished the 2016 season with 3,554 yards, 28 touchdowns and a mere two interceptions. Pro Football Focus rated him first overall among quarterbacks for the year.

While Brady was forced to play most of the season without standout tight end Rob Gronkowski, he still had plenty of offensive weapons of his own. Guys like Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan, Danny Amendola and Martellus Bennett ensured that Brady wouldn't lack for targets.

Even with such quality targets around him, it's hard not to marvel at what Brady accomplished this season. His 28-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio set a new league record.

Even this weekend's opponents can respect the talent Brady brings to the field.

“We are going against Tom Brady. He is a G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time). Let’s keep it real,” Falcons defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman said, per Frank Schwab of Yahoo Sports.

While we expect both quarterbacks to have strong performances, we'll give a slight edge to Brady. This isn't to suggest that he is a better quarterback than Ryan, but we feel New England's defense will force just a few more mistakes than Atlanta's will.

In addition to being the top scoring defense in the league, New England's defense is one of the best pass-coverage units in the NFL. The Patriots snagged 17 interceptions during the regular season and in the playoffs and are rated first in pass coverage by Pro Football Focus.

New England also boasts one of the top run defenses in the NFL. As a team, the Patriots allowed just 88.6 rushing yards per game during the regular season and are rated second in run defense by Pro Football Focus.

Atlanta—which is rated just 26th in run defense by Pro Football Focus—isn't nearly as strong against the run. This is why, when it comes to rushing, we'll also give a slight edge to Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount.

Blount rushed for an impressive 18 touchdowns during the regular season, and we believe he'll hit paydirt again on Sunday.

In terms of total production, though, Falcons back Devonta Freeman will likely come out on top. As a true dual-threat back, he is likely to do damage in ways that Blount simply will not.

Falcons receivers could also come out as big producers in this game, especially star Julio Jones. Even though the Patriots are likely to do everything they can to contain Jones, his talent makes the task virtually impossible. While Jones might not run wild, he'll get his.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown was mostly contained during the AFC title game, and he still finished with seven receptions and 77 receiving yards. Jones is a more dynamic receiver who will be utilized in ways Brown wasn't.

Of the tight ends in this game, New England's Martellus Bennett is likely to be the most successful. Not only is Bennett a big, athletic and reliable pass-catcher, he has the ability to make even a quarterback of Brady's caliber better.

If the Falcons are not careful, Bennett has the ability to take over this game.

MVP Odds and Prediction

Player	Odds
Tom Brady, QB, NE	8-5
Matt Ryan, QB, ATL	11-4
Julio Jones, WR, ATL	15-2
Julian Edelman, WR, NE	12-1
LeGarrette Blount, RB, NE	20-1
Dion Lewis, RB, NE	25-1
Devonta Freeman, RB, ATL	25-1
Chris Hogan, WR, NE	25-1
Tevin Coleman, RB, ATL	33-1

Brady currently has the best odds to win Super Bowl MVP. Given our predictions for how the game will unfold, we'll make him our choice here too.

However, there are a couple of realistic alternatives, even if the Patriots come out on top. We believe New England will implement a run-oriented offense as much as possible in order to keep Atlanta's offense on the sideline. If Blount has his way with the Atlanta defense, he could end up as the MVP.

A pass-rusher, such as Chris Long, could also end up MVP, like Von Miller from last year. The same is true if the Falcons come out on top. We wouldn't be surprised to see Vic Beasley, who led the league in sacks this year, come away with the honor should Atlanta prevail.

If the Falcons win offensively, there is no shortage of candidates for the MVP honor.