Falcons, Patriots punch their tickets to the Super Bowl

The Super Bowl LI match-up is set and it'll see one big game regular, the New England Patriots, face the Atlanta Falcons, making their second-ever Super Bowl appearance, in Houston, Texas, on Sunday, February 5.

In the early match-up, the Falcons dismantled the Green Bay Packers 44-21 to win the NFC Championship. Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan was stellar, throwing for 392 yards and four touchdowns as the Falcons scored 31 points before the Packers got on the board in the third quarter.

But the big star turn for Atlanta came from wide receiver Julio Jones, who made nine catches for 180 yards and a pair of touchdowns. It was how Jones made the catches that was as fantastic as the stats he racked up.

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For the Packers, Aaron Rodgers faired well considering he was reportedly battling the flu, throwing for 287 yards and three touchdowns (with an interception). But the Packers failed to get much else going on the offensive end (Rodgers was also Green Bay's leading rusher with 46 yards), not that it mattered given the way the Falcons' offense ran willy-nilly over Green Bay's defense.

The Falcons' only other appearance in the Super Bowl came in 1999 in Super Bowl XXXIII, when the Denver Broncos, led by John Elway in his final game, defeated Atlanta 34-19. Hopefully, for Atlanta, the scene in Houston will be different than the one in Miami for that game, where one starter was arrested for solicitation of a prostitute.

Atlanta hopes the outcome is different this year, but that'll be a tall task and they'll face a red-hot New England Patriots team who squashed the Pittsburgh Steelers 36-17 in the AFC championship game, earning the Patriots their eighth Super Bowl appearance in franchise history and their fourth in the last 10 years.

As with the Falcons, a terrific quarterback performance was overshadowed by a receiver. In this case, Tom Brady (of course) threw for 384 yards and three touchdowns, but it was receiver Chris Hogan who had a huge performance, matching Jones' number for the Falcons with nine catches for 180 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including one on a nifty flea-flicker.

Not that Tom Brady could ever be overshadowed for long. With the win, Brady will now play in his seventh Super Bowl, the most of any player in history. And Sunday night was his ninth game with at least three touchdown passes, tying Joe Montana for the all-time record.

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And there are more records awaiting if the Patriots can win: Brady is currently tied with Montana and Terry Bradshaw for the most Super Bowl wins by a quarterback with four. A win in two weeks will give him the new record of five. It would also tie Brady with Charles Haley for the most Super Bowl wins for any player.

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As for Vegas? The early odds favor Brady and the Pats, but just barely, as New England opens as a three-point favorite for the big game.

Super Bowl LI kicks off a little after 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT on Sunday, February 5, 2017 and will be aired on Fox.