default-cbs-image

HOUSTON -- It was the type of play that has haunted or nearly haunted the Patriots over the years. A wild, incomprehensible catch that shouldn't actually happen occurring on the biggest possible stage at the biggest possible moment.

Bless the Pats' poor souls, this one finally went their way.

It's hard to feel sorry for Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. They are the proud owners of a literal fistful of Super Bowl rings, thanks to their 34-28 victory over the Falcons, having picked up a fifth title at Super Bowl LI on the heels of the greatest comeback in NFL history.

But the reality is the Patriots, whenever they play in the Super Bowl, generally are involved with some of the wildest catches in NFL history. Most of them haven't gone New England's way.

The Helmet Catch is the most obvious example -- David Tyree pinned a football to his head after Eli Manning Houdini'd his way out of a sack to end the 2007 Patriots' unbeaten streak at 18 games. In terms of top catches of all time, it's a no-brainer top-three option.

Slightly less heralded is the Mario Manningham catch from the 2011 season, another Giants victory over the Patriots. It's less improbable because it's just a dime.

And it's really more of an Eli Manning throw than a Manningham catch, but this was two Super Bowls in a row the Patriots were smoked by the Giants thanks to a play that probably doesn't happen nine times out of 10.

New England was nearly burned by Jermaine Kearse's Super Bowl catch two years ago, a wild juggling display of aerial acrobatics that, were it not for the Seahawks' decision to pass instead of feeding Marshawn Lynch, would probably have ended up as another on the list of haunting haul-ins.

The Kearse catch is probably the closest to the Julian Edelman catch from Sunday night in the Pats' victory. Tyree had no business making his catch, but the Kearse and Edelman catches involve roughly 80 percent luck.

edelman-catch-patriots.jpg
Wait, what just happened? USATSI

No one with the Patriots can really understand how Edelman came down with the ball. Including the guy who threw it to him.

"That was a ridiculous play, just unbelievable. Jules has had a great season, a great career," Brady said on Monday at his Super Bowl LI MVP press conference. "He's one of my best friends, I trust him so much. He's someone I'm always looking for."

Brady understands that history, while kind to the Patriots, hasn't been great to them overall when it comes to huge moments on the biggest stage.

"We've had a few catches go against us, and it was nice for one to go for us in that moment," Brady said. "It was a big play on that drive. I still don't know how he came up with it, but he did."

Take away Tyree and Manningham and the Pats are squatting on seven Super Bowl trophies. Kearse nearly cost them a third one. And so did Julio Jones, who put up an incredible highlight reel catch of his own against the Patriots on a late toe-tapping grab down the sideline with the Falcons trying to hold onto an eight-point lead.

It was actually the second incredible catch for Jones, but neither of them ultimately matter with the Falcons blowing the largest lead in Super Bowl history.

Instead it's the Edelman catch that lingers. It's going to be the moment everything turned for the Patriots, and it's going to haunt the dreams of the guys on the Falcons.

"I had seen the ball. I ran into his hip and then I looked back and the ball was right there. All I could do is get my hands up to hit it," Atlanta cornerback Robert Alford said after the game. "I knew if I tipped it in the air -- it's something that we've been going over at practice. Just tip it in the air and if you can't get it, then my brother will get it. Edelman was right there."

Alford added he "couldn't believe that he caught it" which is perfectly accurate because, well, no one could believe he caught it.

It's a play, as LeGarrette Blount pointed out, that will go down in history as an all-time catch, one of those things you see replayed over and over and over as a reminder of the Patriots' miraculous comeback.

"That will probably be one of those that's top 10 plays in Super Bowl history," Blount said. "That was an amazing catch."

Like every great catch, it required a high level of skill, a singular degree of focus ... and a little bit of luck. Maybe a lot of luck -- Edelman needed multiple Falcons players to prop him up from hitting the ground and maintaining possession. He needed Alford to tip it.

But in the end the ball was in his hands, and the Patriots' comeback was alive. Nothing will ever erase the memory of Tyree and Manningham helping to yank away titles through miraculous catches. No one feels sorry for the Patriots because they only have five trophies. But Edelman's grab is a nice salve to the wound and a reversal of the big-catch luck the Patriots have never gotten on the Super Bowl stage.

Finally the "hard-luck" Pats caught a break.