By: Braxton Tejkl

The largest football event of the year is around the corner and people do not know what to expect. Super Bowl LI is full of new and old faces from both teams. The game is being played at the neutral location of NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. Playing in the game are the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons.

The New England Patriots are the winners of the AFC conference. The Patriots have won the AFC conference 7 times in the past 16 years and have 4 Super Bowl wins. All 4 Super Bowl wins have been with the same quarterback, Tom Brady, who has gotten the MVP award 3 of those 4 games. Fortunately for the Patriots, they have some experience behind the wheel with Tom Brady returning at the quarterback position. Some other returning Patriots at offense are Nate Solder, Julian Edelman, Martellus Bennett, and LeGarrette Blount. The experienced defensive players are Chris Long, Dont’a Hightower, Rob Ninkovich, and Patrick Chung. The New England Patriots have a lot of experience here at the Super Bowl and will be ready for anything that is thrown at them.

The winners of the NFC conference are the Atlanta Falcons. This only the second time that the Falcons have won the conference and advanced on to the Super Bowl. The last time the Falcons were in the Super Bowl was 18 years ago in 1998. Leading Atlanta into the Super Bowl is Matt Ryan, a 9- year quarterback out of Boston College. Although the team has not been to the Super Bowl many times they still have players who have plenty of experience with the game. Players such as Julio Jones, Mohamed Sanu and Devonta Freeman are offensive threats for the Falcons. Defensive players for Atlanta are Vic Beasley, Jalen Collins, and Ricardo Allen. The Atlanta Falcons are ready to put an end to the Patriots’ appearance of dominance.