James White was the star for the New England Patriots, but closed the deal as he ran for the Super Bowl 51 winning touchdown.
The New England Patriots trailed by 25 points at one point in the second half of Super Bowl 51. However, you can never count out a team with Tom Brady under center and with Bill Belichick on the sidelines, no matter the stage or game. That’s the lesson that the Atlanta Falcons had to learn the hard way, ultimately courtesy of James White
Thanks to a monster effort from Brady and White in the second half, the Patriots clawed back into the game and, with under a minute left in regulation, the running back punched it in to pull them within two. After getting the two-point conversion and then a stop, it was onto the first overtime in Super Bowl history.
After winning the toss and obviously electing to receive, the Patriots drove down the field methodically. Once in the red zone, it was a done deal. A defensive pass interference penalty later, New England had only two yards to go. They gave the ball again to White and sent him out wide to the right. From there, all he had to do was power through some tackles and that was all she wrote for Super Bowl 51:
Though Brady will obviously be the MVP—and also deservedly so—White made a strong case for himself. Not only did he seal the win in overtime with this score, but he was a driving force all night as a runner and receiver. Subsequently, he’s at least the runner-up and deserves every bit of credit.
If I had to guess, he’ll take the Super Bowl ring as a consolation prize.