Two good quarterbacks, two good offenses, one Bill Belichick. The New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons will head down to Houston for Super Bowl LI this Sunday.

Most people are eager to see a new guard at the top of the NFL, but find it difficult to bet against the best quarterback-coach combo since Bill Welsh-Joe Montana. We’re no different. The Student Life sports reporters picked 4-1 Patriots over Falcons, with one rouge vote going for the Green Bay Packers. But hey, we’ve been wrong before. Tune in at 5:30 p.m. to find out. 

Atlanta 28- New England 24

Would you rather be stranded in a remote jungle and have to Bear Grylls your way to safety, or cover Julio Jones for one drive? I’d take my chances in the Amazon.

Jones is very good at football. On the field he’s like a gazelle—he has these long, smooth strides and then, suddenly, it’s 70-yards and a touchdown. He owns three of the top 100 all-time best receiving seasons, and he’s only been in the league for six years. Of course, here’s where you say, “Yes Jon, but the Super Bowl is one game, and the New England Patriots are notoriously good at shutting down a team’s best player.” I will concede that yes, this is a fair point. But limiting Jones hasn’t actually meant winning games against the Falcons this year. In the four games that Jones was limited to 50 yards or fewer, the Hawks are 4-0. Plus you can’t deny that this is Atlanta’s year: Migos have the number one song in the country and “Atlanta” won a Golden Globe. Why not add the city’s second-ever sports championship to the list?

Jon Lewis, Staff Reporter

Atlanta 25 – New England 26

I’m no analyst, but I will make an observation: If a patriot fought a falcon to the death, the patriot would probably win. Plus, the Patriots are currently 2-0 against bird teams in their Super Bowl history. Easy.

Lily Wu, Staff Reporter

16 Atlanta- New England 17

As a New York sports fan, I’m trained to hate the Patriots, and the Falcons are as well-equipped as any foe to dethrone New England. It’ll certainly be an exciting matchup, pitting the league’s most potent offense in Matt Ryan and the Falcons against the Pats’ Belichick-Matt Patricia stalwart defense. Ryan, playing in his first Super Bowl, hasn’t thrown an interception in two months, and his main man Julio Jones became the first NFL player to go two playoff games with 150-plus receiving yards and at least two touchdowns—in only his fifth career postseason game. But like Jon said, Belichick has had two weeks to craft a plan to take down the Falcons, and Atlanta’s 27th-ranked defense won’t be enough to keep Brady and his balanced attack out of the end zone. I think the Patriots’ experience (and Ryan’s lack thereof) in these high-pressure situations is too valuable to ignore, and as much as it pains me to say it, we’ll see Brady smirking as his Deflategate foe Roger Goodell hands him the Vince Lombardi Trophy, once again.

Anna Schoenfeld, Staff Reporter

New England 24-Atlanta 17

The 2016 Atlanta Falcons are tied for the seventh-most points scored in NFL history. Let’s take a look at the rest of the top 12. Just one won the Super Bowl: the 1999 St. Louis Rams (R.I.P.). The New England Patriots know that fact all too well, considering they were four of the ones who fell short. Each of the high-powered offenses curiously went out with a whimper, averaging just 18.3 points in their playoff exits after collectively averaging 34.4 points per game in the regular season. The half that lost immediately after a playoff bye fared even worse, averaging just 16 points, none scoring more than 21. All of this is to say that rest, as much as the Patriots defense, will slow down the Birds. Still, history isn’t the only thing on New England’s side. The Patriots boast a sterling quartet in the secondary—Malcolm Butler, Patrick Chung, Devin McCourty and Logan Ryan—that will do just enough to bottle up Julio Jones and company. I’d bet against these Falcons becoming the highest-scoring team ever to win the Super Bowl.

Rohan Gupta, Sports Editor

New England 34-Atlanta 24

We’re starting to beat a dead Falcon here, but let’s give it one more pass for good measure. Matt Ryan and Julio Jones are one of the last quarterback-wide receiver duos providing life and excitement to the bloating rotting carcass of the NFL. Patriots are experts at neutralizing skill positions (see: Antonio Brown’s 77 yards in the AFC championship game). The smart money is never bets against Brady and Belichick, but the odds are closer than you think. Oddsshark.com only has the Patriots as three point favorites. The consensus, like Jon said, is that the Falcons just plain have too many weapons to account for on any single play. After all, they did have one of the best offensive seasons of any team—ever.

You can essentially treat the Belichick effect like a handicap. The Falcons’ offense won’t be the 34 point- per-game juggernaut they were in the regular season, but they also won’t be punchless like the Steelers were in the AFC Championship game. The question then becomes:  how much can Tom Brady and his unit score against the piece of Swiss cheese formerly known as the Atlanta Falcons defense? The Falcons’ defense did a good job against the Packers two weeks ago, but the Patriots are much more consistent and even more prolific than Green Bay was in the regular season anyway. Bad matchup for the Falcons plus good matchup for the Patriots equals another boring Super Bowl title for New England.

Aaron Brezel, Senior Sports Editor

Green Bay 56-Atlanta 0- New England -10

If there’s anyone who can come up with a late, Hail Mary style comeback, it’s Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers. Though they may have lost to Atlanta in an unfortunate turn of events, expect the cheese heads to storm the field late in the second quarter. Rodgers and company practiced all week against coach Mike McCarthy and Commissioner Roger Goodell’s explicit orders. Lacking their longtime head coach, they’ll be employing an Ouija board to summon the late-but-still-great spirit of Vince Lombardi. Watch as the Packers dominate both the Falcons and Patriots while all three teams are on the field at the same time! Surely, it will be a spectacle for the ages. Oh, also Brett Favre will show up to promote his Wrangler jeans and throw 10 interceptions.

Noah Jodice, Senior Editor