We got one of the earliest Super Bowl prop bets out of the way with the opening coin toss. The Philadelphia Eagles called tails, but it came up heads. The New England Patriots elected to defer and will receive the ball to start the game. The Eagles will start the second half with the ball.
This marked the fifth straight year tails came up in the Super Bowl coin toss. Tails has the slight historical edge, now leading 27-25. Teams winning the toss have gone on to lose 27 of the 51 Super Bowls. We’ll see if the Patriots can buck that slight trend:
Tom Brady hit Rob Gronkowski and Danny Amendola for scores in the third quarter, tying things up 28-28 heading into the final period. Justin Tucker gave the Ravens a three-point edge with a 25-yard field goal. But Brandon LaFell hauled in a 23-yard pass from Brady to seal the win.
The Ravens carried a four-point lead into the fourth quarter against the Patriots with a trip to Super Bowl XLVI on the line. Four points is nothing to Brady. He ran in a one-yard touchdown to take a 23-20 lead in the fourth quarter.
Eli Manning and the Giants turned the tables on the Patriots in that Super Bowl, pulling off a comeback win of their own with a fourth-quarter touchdown from Ahmad Bradshaw to beat the Patriots 21-17.
Hornacek said Tuesday that the plan is for Noah to remain away for the foreseeable future. He wasn’t sure if Noah would return before the end of the season, noting that the decision would come from team president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry.
The Knicks attempted to deal Noah prior to the trade deadline earlier this month but could not find a team willing to take on the $54 million he is owed over the remainder of his contract, which runs through the 2019-20 season.
New York, according to sources, has shown no desire to waive Noah. As of late last week, he hadn’t been open to any buyout discussions, sources said.
Hornacek said several times Tuesday that the team has moved on from the Noah situation.