What a night for Kyle Van Noy and Eric Rowe, along with their Patriots teammates, in the duo's first appearance in a Super Bowl.
The pair of Utah ties came up with drive-stopping plays on third downs in the second half Sunday night as New England rallied from 25 points down to beat Atlanta 34-28 in overtime in Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium in Houston.
It was the largest comeback in Super Bowl history.
While former Utah defensive back Rowe finished with the better statline, former BYU linebacker Van Noy came up with arguably the bigger play.
Van Noy made his only impact in the game at the end of the third quarter, splitting a sack of Atlanta's Matt Ryan with Trey Flowers for a 9-yard loss on a third-and-11 play. It came after New England was unsuccessful on an onsides kick and forced the Falcons to punt from their own 49-yard line one drive after the Patriots cut the Atlanta lead to 28-9.
The sack helped set up a New England field goal on the team's ensuing drive, cutting Atlanta's lead to 16 points. The Patriots, behind quarterback and game MVP Tom Brady, ultimately rallied from a 28-3 deficit to score the game's final 31 points, including the final six on a touchdown run by James White in overtime, the first time a Super Bowl has gone into an extra session.
Van Noy's sack was the first by a former Cougar in a Super Bowl since Jason Buck had an 11-yard sack for Washington in a 37-24 win over Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVI.
Rowe, meanwhile, finished the game with four tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass defended. He had a tackle in the first half and added three more in the third quarter.
The second-year pro kept the Falcons' Taylor Gabriel from corralling a reception on third-and-6 on Atlanta's first possession of the second half, knocking away the pass. It helped prevent the Falcons, momentarily at least, from adding to their 21-3 halftime lead.
Rowe added a 3-yard tackle for loss later in the third quarter, pairing with teammate Rob Ninkovich to drop Falcons running back Devonta Freeman for a loss on second-and-1 from the New England 6. The Falcons later scored a touchdown on that drive to go ahead 28-3.
It's the fifth straight year a former Ute has played in the Super Bowl. It's also the third straight Super Bowl a former University of Utah player has won a Super Bowl ring, including offensive lineman Sam Brenner with Denver last year and defensive tackle Sealver Siliga with New England in Super Bowl XLIX.
Van Noy became the first ex-Cougar to play in a Super Bowl since tight end Dennis Pitta caught four passes for 26 yards and a touchdown for Baltimore in a Super Bowl XLVII win over San Francisco.
Van Noy also had his reaction to a key play caught on camera by Fox, which televised the game. Julian Edelman caught a pass off the leg of a defender and just inches from the ground for a 23-yard gain to move the Patriots into Atlanta territory late in the fourth. The play set up a touchdown and successful two-point conversion in the final minute of regulation to tie the game at 28-all and send it to overtime.
The Falcons have a pair of local players on their roster, but neither played in the game. Tight end D.J. Tialavea (Utah State and West Jordan High) is on the team’s 53-man active roster but was inactive for the game, while defensive end Derrick Shelby (Utah) has been on injured reserve since Oct. 18.