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.
History of the New England Patriots
The Patriots then went to Pittsburgh to face the favored Steelers in the AFC Championship Game. After Brady injured his ankle in the second quarter, Bledsoe (in his last appearance as a Patriot) came off the sideline and immediately led the team to their only offensive touchdown of the game, with the drive culminating in a touchdown pass to David Patten. In the second half, thanks to help from two special teams touchdowns and two 4th-quarter interceptions of passes thrown by Pittsburgh's Kordell Stewart, the Patriots upset the Steelers 24–17 to advance to Super Bowl XXXVI. It would be the Patriots' third Super Bowl in team history, all of which to that point had been played in New Orleans.
In the Super Bowl, the Patriots faced the heavily favored St. Louis Rams, led by league MVP Kurt Warner and known as "The Greatest Show on Turf", who had beaten the Patriots in the regular season in Foxboro. The Patriots were introduced second, and rather than coming out player-by-player, which was customary at the time, they were introduced collectively as a team. The team introduction was met with great praise and admiration, and has since been used by each team at the Super Bowl. In contrast to the regular season game, Bill Belichick devised a defensive game plan that used the blitz very sparingly, but called for chipping the Rams receivers and running back Marshall Faulk as they went into their patterns, a game plan very similar to the one he employed against the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV. This disrupted the Rams' precise passing routes and the entire rhythm of the offense and caused the usually cool-under-pressure Warner to look shaky in the pocket, being sacked several times. The Patriots forced three turnovers, all of which led to scores (including an interception returned by Ty Law for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter).