Super Bowl Quarter Score 2017: Patriots vs. Falcons 1st-Quarter Update and Recap

Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn took a major gamble to open the 2017 Super Bowl, deferring to the second half and giving the ball to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

It worked as both sides played a scoreless quarter.

Atlanta's upstart defense—forged by Quinn after his stellar days with the Seattle Seahawks—forced a three-and-out.

Not to be outdone, New England gave up one major run by Devonta Freeman before forcing an Atlanta punt. The big run was a 37-yard gain, as the NFL's official Twitter account captured:

A stalemate and one Bill Belichick and the Patriots could be proud of based on a note by ESPN Stats & Info:

Proud especially because Brady and the offense made some headway on the next drive. Brady peppered five different players with targets as the offense marched past the 50-yard line.

Fans have heard this story before—Brady gets in a rhythm and marches down the field.

Except Atlanta wasn't willing to play along. Courtney Upshaw sacked Brady once, and Grady Jarrett followed with another to push the Patriots back across the other side of the 50, killing the drive.

ESPN's Coley Harvey summed up the Atlanta defense's creativity and the environment inside NRG Stadium well:

Long story short, Brady took two sacks on a single drive after taking just 15 all year.

Viewers could start to see a trend, though Atlanta didn't capitalize on the momentum, with Matt Ryan and the Falcons eventually punting the ball right back.

The scoreless quarter was a rather unexpected result given both teams' performances this year: 

But as ESPN's Adam Schefter noted, this wasn't anything new for the Patriots in the Super Bowl:

This feeling-out period for both sides, which is expected when two great coaches have two weeks to prepare, didn't post much in the way of gaudy stats. Brady hitting five targets was impressive, as was Freeman's 42 rushing yards.

It was the defenses impressing more than anything. Quinn's defense was fearless in playing press coverage and giving their guys upfront time to get to Brady. New England made smart adjustments and started responded to a better-than-expected Atlanta running game.

What follows in the final three frames is an interesting chess match between coaching masterminds. Maybe it features less scoring than anticipated, but the first quarter promised historic action nonetheless. 

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All betting information courtesy of OddsShark. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.