Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan beat out Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to win the NFL MVP Award. The two quarterbacks are set to meet in Super Bowl 51 on Sunday night in Houston.
The last player to win the MVP award and the Super Bowl in the same year was Kurt Warner in 1999.
Ryan was also named AP Offensive Player of the Year.
Ryan helped the Falcons to an 11-5 regular season record while throwing 38 touchdowns to only seven interceptions.
He had a quarterback completion percentage of 69.9 and racked up 4,944 yards passing.
Brady finished second in the voting.
For more on Matt Ryan, GoLocalProv teams with Graphiq.
Related Slideshow: The Patriots 8 Super Bowl Appearances
The Patriots grabbed a 3-0 lead on a field goal from kicker Tony Franklin, but the game would be all Chicago from there.
The Bears would score the next 44 straight points helped by rushing touchdowns from Jim McMahon and William Perry to take a 44-3 lead into the fourth quarter.
In a high scoring affair, 37 points total in the 4th quarter, it was Adam Vinatieri who gave the Patriots a 32-29 win on a 41-yard field goal with 4 seconds left.
The Patriots bounced back from missing the playoffs the season before to win their second Super Bowl in franchise history and the second in three years.
The New England Patriots were crowned dynasty after beating the Eagles, winning their third Super Bowl in 4 seasons.
Rodney Harrison sealed the win with an interception of Donovan McNabb and Adam Vinatieri had another clutch field goal to extend the Patriots lead to 24-14 in the 4th quarter.
Trailing 10-7 in the fourth quarter, Tom Brady found Randy Moss in the back of the endzone to give the Patriots a 14-10 lead with 2:42 left to play in the game.
On the Giants next possession, Eli Manning escaped a sack on fourth down and found David Tyree, who caught the ball on top of his helmet for a first down.
With 35 seconds left, Manning found Plaxico Burress in the endzone to give the Giants a 17-14 lead and the win. The Giants ended the Patriots undefeated season.
Tom Brady hit tight end Aaron Hernandez for a third quarter touchdown to put the Patriots up 17-9 with 11:20 left in the third quarter.
Following two Giants field goals from Lawrence Tynes, the Patriots held a 17-15 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, a dropped pass by Wes Welker gave the Giants the ball back and they would cash in. Manning would hand the ball to Ahmad Bradshaw with 57 seconds left who would run six yards into the endzone to get the 21-17 win.
Rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler picked off Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson on the one-yard line to seal the Patriots fourth Super Bowl.
Prior to that, the Patriots trailed by 10 points, 24-14, in the fourth quarter before Tom Brady led the Patriots offense to 14 straight points, hitting Julian Edelman for the game winner.
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