I have no skin in the game, but my question is.
Has a team with the lead in the waning moments of a game (not necessarily a Super Bowl) ever kicked a first down field goal?
After the Jones catch, there were two issues for the Falcons, the score and the clock.
A first down field goal (with a 95% chance of success) would have given them an eleven point lead and probably the victory.
Instead they run time off the clock, but instead of running forward, they run backward. Whoops no field goal.
Without momentum in the the fourth quarter, the Falcons should have taken the points that Julio's catch provided.
With a little extra time on the clock, the Pats may have scored a touchdown, a two point conversion and a field goal and the outcome would have been the same. We'll never know, but I doubt that a field goal on first down was even considered.
