American football rules
Super Bowl LI was the first Super Bowl to go into overtime with a 28-all tie between the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots, which the Patriots eventually won with James White scoring a touchdown on the Patriots' first drive.
Super Bowl XLII
When the New England Patriots arrived at Super Bowl XLII, they were already billed as the greatest team in NFL history. The Patriots were not only competing for a fourth Super Bowl title since the 2001 season; they were aiming to become the first team in NFL history to achieve a 19–0 record. Their perfect 16–0 record in the regular season was the first since the league moved to a 16 game regular season in 1978. It was also only the fourth undefeated and untied regular season in NFL history. New England set NFL records with 589 points scored (an average of 36.8 points per game) (since broken by the 2013 Broncos), 75 total touchdowns, and a net differential of +315 points (they gave up 274 points, fourth best in the league). Some experts have suggested that the Patriots' 16–0 record is the culmination of a larger trend towards better records for top NFL teams since the league realignment in 2002.
The team was led by quarterback Tom Brady who won his first NFL MVP & NFL Offensive MVP award, throwing for a career-high 4,806 yards and a then NFL record 50 touchdowns (22 more than his previous best season; since broken by Peyton Manning in 2013), and just eight interceptions. His passer rating of 117.2 was the second-highest season rating in NFL history. One often-cited reason for Brady's improved numbers was the acquisition of receivers Randy Moss and Wes Welker. The Patriots acquired Moss, a nine-year veteran, from the Oakland Raiders for a fourth-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft after Moss had, statistically, the worst year of his career (with 42 receptions for 553 yards and three touchdowns). With the Patriots, though, Moss caught 98 receptions for 1,493 yards and an NFL record 23 touchdowns, and was selected a first-team All Pro. The Patriots also gave the Miami Dolphins second- and seventh-round picks for Welker; Welker tied for the league lead with 112 receptions for 1,175 yards and 8 touchdowns and was named a second-team All Pro. Welker and Moss both earned votes for Offensive Player of the Year. Other major contributors to the Patriots' passing game included Donté Stallworth, who added 697 yards and three touchdowns, and tight end Benjamin Watson, whose 36 receptions totaled 389 yards and six touchdowns.