Patriots get edge over Falcons in Super Bowl rematch

Of the first 50 Super Bowls, there were only seven rematches the following regular season, with the Super Bowl winner going 5-2.

The Patriots-Falcons showdown in New England on Sunday night will be the eighth such rematch. The Patriots are a 3-point favorite over Atlanta, which infamously blew a 28-3 third-quarter lead in a 34-28 overtime loss to New England in Super Bowl LI.

Just when it appeared the Falcons were starting to recover from their Super Bowl hangover by opening this season 3-0, the demons from their historic collapse came back to haunt them in back-to-back home losses to the Bills and Dolphins.

Atlanta was outscored 36-7 in the second half by Buffalo and Miami, which erased a 17-0 halftime deficit Sunday by scoring 20 consecutive points behind, ahem, quarterback Jay Cutler.

Most Falcons players probably have had recurring nightmares of Super Bowl LI and burned the film or buried it in the horror section of their DVD library. But center Alex Mack said Wednesday he probably will watch the game again to prepare for the rematch.

“I think you’d look at the Super Bowl just because that’s the last time you looked at the opponent and it’s valuable because it’s their scheme versus our scheme,” he said. “You can learn from what we did well, what they did well.”

All right, then.

New England is last in the NFL in defense, allowing 440.7 yards per game, including 324.8 through the air. But the Patriots have held the Buccaneers and Jets to a total of 31 points the past two weeks, and Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has yet to find his MVP form under new offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.

Ryan has thrown for six touchdowns and six interceptions, which is one fewer pick than he threw last season (38 TDs, 7 INTs). His counterpart, Tom Brady, leads the league in passing yards (1,959) and has thrown for 13 TDs and two interceptions.

The Patriots have won and covered their past five meetings against the Falcons.

Four more plays for Week 7 (home team in CAPS):

EAGLES (-4½) over Redskins: The emerging Eagles beat Washington 30-17 on the road in the season opener and have gotten their ground game going to complement quarterback Carson Wentz (13 TDs, 3 INTs). Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (9 TDs, 2 INTs) has been solid but is 0-5 on “Monday Night Football,” and Washington’s defense is banged up.

Bengals (+5½) over STEELERS: Cincinnati has won two straight after a 0-3 start and is coming off a bye. The Bengals’ well-rested defense is in the top three in the NFL in sacks (18), yards allowed (262.8) and points allowed (16.6) and should pressure Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton and wideout A.J. Green have found their groove and should make enough plays to keep the game close.

Titans (-6) over BROWNS: This is mostly a bet against Cleveland, which is on a 0-5 slide against the spread and has won one of its past 26 games. Rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer has regained the starting job after backup Kevin Hogan threw three interceptions in a 33-17 loss to the Texans. Kizer was picked off nine times in his first five games and lost two fumbles.

Jaguars (-3) over COLTS: Jacksonville has alternated wins and losses and is poised for a victory at Indianapolis, where quarterback Jacoby Brissett will struggle against the NFL’s No. 3 pass defense. Jacksonville leads the league in rushing behind rookie running back Leonard Fournette, and even quarterback Blake Bortles should pick apart one of the NFL’s worst pass defenses.

Last week: 1-4 against the spread

Season: 12-18

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.