Super Bowl: New England Patriots recover from record deficit to beat Atlanta Falcons

The New England Patriots produced the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history to beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime and claim a fifth title in the most dramatic of circumstances.

The Patriots trailed by 25 points in the third quarter but recovered to level at 28-28 and force the extra period - the first in Super Bowl history.

The comeback was completed when James White scored on a two-yard run - taking his personal haul for the game to 20 points.Quarterback Tom Brady led the recovery, finishing with a record 466 yards en route to being named the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player for a fourth time.

The previous biggest deficit overcome by an eventual Super Bowl champion was 10 points, a record emphatically shattered by the Patriots on a quite incredible night at Houston's NRG Stadium, which also featured a spectacular half-time show by Lady Gaga.

Other notable statistics from the game:

• Tom Brady broke his own Super Bowl record with 43 pass completions.
• Brady also became the first player ever to win four Super Bowl MVPs.
• Brady's 466 passing yards surpassed the previous record of 414 set by Kurt Warner in Super Bowl XXXIV.
• James White finished with 14 receptions, the most by any player ever in the Super Bowl.
• The Patriots scored 19 unanswered points in fourth quarter

Brady, 39, admitted afterwards that the outcome could have been very different had any part of the Patriots team not done its job.

A key moment came in the final quarter with the Patriots trailing 28-20 with 2:28 remaining when Julian Edelman made a miraculous catch for first down, somehow grabbing the ball under pressure from three opponents after it was tipped into the air by Falcons cornerback Robert Alford.

"There were a lot of plays, probably about 30 of them, and if any one was different the outcome would have been different. It was unbelievable. I'm so proud of these guys," Brady said.

"It's going to be a great celebration tonight. Thanks to everyone back in Boston, we love you, we're bringing this sucker home!"

Source: BBC sports