If Falcons fans thought their 28-3 lead was safe in Super Bowl LI, it’s easy to see why: Leads that big have been safe 99.8 percent of the time in NFL history.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, prior to Super Bowl LI teams leading by 25 or more points at any time in any NFL game were 2,545-4-2 in the regular season and 102-2 in the postseason. Add it up and only six times in 2,655 games, or 0.2 percent of the time, has a team come back from a 25-point deficit to win a game.
In other words, only about once out of every 450 games in which a team takes a 25-point lead does that team end up losing.
The Patriots, however, weren’t concerned about that. Down 25, they scored 31 unanswered points to win 34-28.