Brianna MacKay | On 03, Feb 2017

The 2016-2017 NFL season has been a crazy one from two rookies leading their team to a 13-3 season just to lose their first game in the playoffs, to another team going 3-1 the first four games without their star quarterback. But no matter how crazy the season, they always manage to weed out all the teams until they are left with the best two so they can face off in the biggest game in the season, the Super Bowl.

This season the final two teams standing are the New England Patriots from the AFC East and the Atlanta Falcons from the NFC South. For New England this is nothing, especially for their coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady who have both been to seven Super Bowls in their careers and have won four of them.

For the Falcons however, this is only their second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. Their last one being in 1999, when they lost to the Denver Broncos. This means that this is their star players, Matt Ryan (quarterback) and Julio Jones (wide receiver), are going to be in their first Super Bowl ever.

The road for the Patriots to get to the Super Bowl this season wasn’t as difficult as most people hoped it would be. They ended the regular season with the best record in the NFL at 14-2, even with their star quarterback, Tom Brady, being suspended for the first four games of the season. They entered the playoffs as the number one seed in the AFC, so they got a bye in the first round. In the divisional championship, they beat the Houston Texans at home 34-16, despite Brady having two interceptions that game. In the AFC championship, they faced the Pittsburgh Steelers who had some of the best players in the league like Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown. But even with them one the team, the Patriots still defeated the Steelers 36-17.

The Atlanta Falcons’ season was filled with offensive dominance, thanks to the duo of quarterback Matt Ryan and wide receiver Julio Jones. Ryan’s passing percentage this season was 69.9%, passing 4,944 yards with 38 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions. Jones on the other hand has had 83 receptions for 1409 yards and 6 touchdowns. The team ended the season 11-5, putting them at the top of the NFC South and making them the second seed in the NFC. Like the Patriots, they had a bye the first round of the playoffs. In the divisional championship, they faced the Seattle Seahawks, who they defeated 36-20. Then in the NFC championship, they played The Green Bay Packers who were on a eight game winning streak at the time. The Falcons put that to an end when they beat the Packers 44-21.

So the teams are set and the odds are currently Patriots -3, but you never know with the biggest game of the year. So make sure you tune in at 6:30 pm on FOX as the Patriots and Falcons battle it out in Houston.